Detecting Gypsy Moth Defoliation

Learning Unit Description: 

The Integrated Geospatial Education and Technology Training Project (iGETT) presents a series of Learning Units (LU) designed to incorporate federal land remote sensing data into Geographic Information Systems (GIS) instruction. The Detecting Gypsy Moth Defoliation in Virginia and West Virginia LU, created by David Webb of Virginia Western Community College, has students use satellite images to identify the forest defoliation caused by gypsy moth larva. The project study area covers the highland mountain areas of Virginia and West Virginia in the 2001 growing season, as both satellite images and other proof of defoliation are available for that year.

The iGETT Learning Units amount to about two weeks of instruction and are designed for use both as "skills-based case studies and building blocks for new courses." All LUs are intended for students with a basic understanding of GIS. Each LU includes three core documents, an instructor's guide, a student guide, and a curriculum support document, as well as the remote sensing data needed to complete the unit. 

Upon completion of the lesson, students should be able to apply ENVI and ArcGIS tools to enhance and analyze remote sensing satellite data; compare the results to existing ground / aerial survey data for validation; create a 3-D representation and combine with other layers to determine obvious spread vectors; analyze a problem using medium resolution remote sensing products; and create a 2-D map of analysis results.

For orientation purposes, viewers should begin with Webb_Thumbnail.pdf, which offers a description of the LU as well as an overview of topics covered, required software, and the intended audience.

Lesson Contents:

The attached files associated with this LU exist in a variety of formats and a variety of geospatial data file types.

Below is a list of the files contained within the .zip attachment. The size of each file is included in parenthesis.

LU_Webb.zip

• Documents
  • GypsyMoth_WebbCS.pdf (48 KB)
  • Webb_IG_Final.pdf (257 KB)
  • Webb_SH_Final(V2)(3).pdf (1.4 MB)
  • Webb_Thumbnail.pdf (60 KB)
  • GMSupport_Documents
    • Background
      • Gypsy_Moth_Manual
        • gypsy_moth_manual.pdf (2.6 MB)
      • Ohio_Method
        • burke_hurley.pdf (5.6 MB)
        • burke_pap.pdf (265 KB)
        • Hurley%20Angela%20Lorraine.pdf (5.2 MB)
      • Old_Gypsy_Moth_Article
        • trouvelot_1867.pdf (707 KB)
      • Sketchmapping
        • GISHandbook_rev_nov2005.pdf (495 KB)
        • Sketchmapping.pdf (7.7 MB)
      • Slow_the_Spread
        • sharov_2002a.pdf (1.3 MB)
        • IPMPresentation.ppt (6.1 MB)
      • Virginia_Method
        • 20080008851_2008008504.pdf (6.1 MB)
        • SSTI-2220-0109_n spruce.ppt (5.8 MB)
    • Digital_Images
      • ylwong-primer-chapter-2-imaging.pdf (4.9 MB)
    • Homework
      • Post_Lab_Homework.docx (13 KB)
      • Pre_Lab_Homework.docx (14 KB)
• Data
  • Landsat1
    • etm_1734_2000-6-10.rrd (20.4 MB)
    • LE7017034000016250.H3 (2 KB)
    • LE7017034000119650.H3 (2 KB)
    • etm+1734_2000-6-10.tif (247.3 MB)
    • LE7017034000016250_H3.txt (2 KB)
    • LE7017034000119650_H3.txt (2 KB)
  • Landsat2
    • etm+1734_2000-6-10.aux (8 KB)
    • etm+1734_2001-7-15.tif (317.7 MB)
    • LE7017034000016250_H1.txt (3 KB)
    • LE7017034000119650_H1.txt (3 KB)
  • Landsat3
    • etm+1734_2000-6-10_pan.tif (164.9 MB)
    • etm+1734_2001-7-15_pan.tif (211.8 MB)
  • WEBBData2
    • Gypsy_Moth_Annual_Spread
      • gm_annual_defoliation (8 items, 25 MB)
    • Virginia_Forest_Classification
      • vaforest2000
        • vaforest_faq.htm (15 KB)
        • vaforest.htm (17 KB)
        • vaforest.aux (7 KB)
        • vaforest.clr (80 bytes)
        • info (8 items, 5 KB)
        • vaforest (8 items, 39.9 MB)
        •  
      • vatree
        • vatree_faq.htm (14 KB)
        • vatree.htm (15 KB)
        • vatree.aux (4 mb)
        • info (8 items, 5 KB)
        • vatree (9 items, 20.6 MB)