The course comprises Cartography and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

The first part of the course program focuses on the fundamentals of cartography and aims to teach students how to read and use topographic maps executing some cartographic operations. The second part focuses on GIS fundamentals and strives to provide basic skills in geographic data management and thematic map production. Earth Sciences includes more disciplines than others utilizing GIS, such as Geomorphology, Digital Geological Survey, Hydrogeology, Landslides, and Seismic Risks Assessment.

Cartography

• Cartography and the different types of maps.
• The map Scale.
• The Scale-based map classification.
• Map conventional symbols.
• Representation methods of the elevation.
• The slope.
• Cartographic projections: types and properties.
• The coordinate reference systems (CRS): horizontal datum and altimetric datum.
• The Realization of a horizontal datum: global, continental, national realizations.
• The Italian cartography: the topographic maps.
• The Regional Cartography.
• Operations on maps:
  • Determining the coordinates of points on the map.
  • Individuating the point position on the map based on its coordinates.
  • Map orientation.
  • The Topographic profile.
  • Delimiting a hydrographic basin.

Geographic Information System

• What are Geographic Information Systems? It is the technology that allows geographic information management.
• The GIS software chosen for the course is QGIS, which is free and open-source software.
• The nature of geographic data and how it is managed. The representation of geographic data relative to discrete objects and continuous fields: vectors and rasters.
• The georeferencing of data to place the digital objects relative to the Earth's surface.
• The free and open-source software managing geographic information. Data storage, data processing, display functions, and data management.
• The Modeling of the natural world with a geographic database. Geographic data models in a digital system.
• Sources of geographic information and methods to enter it into a GIS. Methods of geographic data capture and data transfer.
• The Geometries of geographic data and the Attribute data: collection and organization. The role of databases in geographic information systems.
• Manage large, complex databases with specialist database management systems (DBMS) software enclosed into the GIS software used at the course to organize, store, and access data.
• Data types, filtering, and joining attribute data.
• Italian national, regional, topographic, and geological cartography.
• Digital Modeling of terrain.
• Vector and raster geoprocessing. QGIS geoprocessing.
• Cartography and geographic information systems: criteria of composing a thematic map. The production of digital and hardcopy thematic maps with GIS.

There are no bridging courses.

The learning outcomes that the course aims to teach the student are:

Knowledge and understanding

Acquiring the basic concepts of Cartography and representation on a plane (chartaceous map and computer screen) of objects occurring on the curve and irregular Earth's surface. Ability in the topographic map reading and interpretation of the main morphology characters. Ability to execute the basic cartographic operations needed for further geological cartography taught in future course subjects.

Acquiring the basic concepts of Geographic Information Systems, what they are, and why they became indispensable for the activities of the Geologist. Understanding the meaning of geographic and non-geographic information, knowing how geographic information becomes digital, what types of digital data modelling are, and what they choose according to the purposes of our GIS project. Knowledge of the earth surface representation models is needed to correctly locate geographic information and understand issues related to using different reference systems and scales. Knowledge of the various types of mappings and cartographies available at the national and regional levels. The knowledge of the basic techniques of managing and processing geographic data through specific software.

Applying knowledge and understanding

Ability to set up a GIS project, search the data necessary for the project through the Web, and use the Web Mapping services most suitable for finding the correct data sources. Understanding the data model type to use and selecting data according to the purpose and scale of the project. Ability to evaluate data quality and data geoprocessing. Knowledge of software tools to process geographic data.

Making judgments

Research and acquisition of geological data from the sources on the Web according to the purpose of a particular project. Choice of the most suitable geoprocessing tools.

Communication skills

Organizing a GIS project and drafting the relative thematic cartography of immediate readability.

Learning skills

Students can search for more in-depth GIS technologies than those learned in the course and understand them thanks to the bases they have acquired.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

There are no further activities to support teaching.

Teaching

Frontal lessons and exercises on Cartography in a normal classroom and GIS in computer classroom exercises with the help of free desktop and open-source computer software.

Innovative teaching methods

The frontal lessons of Cartography are integrated with individual or group exercises carried out on chartaceous topographic maps.

The frontal lessons of Geographic Information Systems are integrated with individual or group exercises carried out on the computers in the classroom. It is planned for continuous use during the class of free professional software (QGIS), Google Earth Pro, and an internet browser to find the necessary data and learn the data acquisition techniques from the Web to the software. The exercises consist of the teacher introducing operational examples of the resolution of GIS procedures and the student's subsequent performance of application activities.

Attendance

Course attendance is recommended because the course covers cartographic techniques and mainly GIS subjects that are strictly related to software use and involve tutorials.

The skills listed in the "Learning outcomes" are less easy to reach without attending lessons and exercises.

Course books

On the Moodle platform, electronic material for studying the topics discussed during the course will be made available.

Assessment

Expected learning outcomes will be evaluated based on a written test consisting of the execution of some cartographic operations learned during the course of Cartography and of some questions on the topics covered, and on a GIS project to be prepared at home and illustrated at the exam. An oral test with questions will verify the skills' mastery level and the ability to apply them to practical examples illustrated during the trial. More weight will be assigned to the GIS project, while the oral test is crucial for achieving a higher grade.

The grade is on a scale of 30.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Non-attending students can find the arguments taught in the course and the related learning material on Moodle. That's the following:

• text on the Blended pages;
• slides used in the classroom;
• slides illustrating how to read topographic maps and the basic cartography operations;
• slides showing the GIS techniques to reproduce autonomously the classroom exercises;
• eventual links to web pages containing deepening material.

Course books

On the Moodle platform, electronic material for studying the topics discussed during the course will be made available.

Assessment

It is the same for the attending students because it is possible to acquire the same skills and results thanks to the Assessment criteria above.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.