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A Remote Sensing Class Exercise to Study the Effects of El Niño in South America

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Abstract

Satellite remote sensing techniques can be used for conducting environmental change detection studies following a natural disaster. Modern computer technology and free access to global satellite imagery allows educators to introduce undergraduate students to the fields of remote sensing and encourage their scientific participation through a research assignment that also serves as an educational exercise. The undergraduate physical science laboratory manuals used in higher education that contain printed remote sensing material often fail to effectively achieve these goals. This class exercise utilizes digital satellite imagery for studying the floods that resulted in the Paraná River region in South America during El Niño 1997–98. In addition, it examines vegetation cover and spectral profiles from the study area in order to further understand and assess the changes that were caused by this recurrent climatic anomaly.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611-2120

    Lucas Eduardo Moxey

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  1. Lucas Eduardo Moxey
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Moxey, L.E. A Remote Sensing Class Exercise to Study the Effects of El Niño in South America. Journal of Science Education and Technology 11, 325–332 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020638217253

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