The purpose of Exercise 1 is to look at maps, photographs and satellite images of Carbondale, other places in southern Illinois, and the entire state of Illinois in order to understand the types of information that they can provide and to get information about the region in which we live.

OBJECTIVES

1. Observe patterns in a region using a photograph of the SIUC campus taken from a helicopter, an aerial photograph of Carbondale, and a satellite image of Illinois.

2. Develop possible reasons or causes for the patterns you see on an aerial photograph or satellite image.

3. Learn the relationship between the scale of a map, photograph or satellite image and the types of information that they provide.

1. Concepts - Read the following pages in the textbook before coming to your laboratory session so that you will be able to understand the exercise and work efficiently. Read Unit 3 "Mapping the Earth's Surface", pp. 23-37. Pay special attention to the discussion of scale (p. 26), map interpretation (pp. 29-34) as a way to interpret photographs and images, and remote sensing of the environment (pp. 35-37).

2. Resources - The things you will need to work on this exercise are provided

1. Photograph No. 1 - Oblique Aerial View of Southern Illinois University We will start with images that look most realistic, and move toward more abstract images of places. The cover of the 1995-96 Undergraduate Catalog has a color photograph of part of the SIUC campus taken from a helicopter.

2. Photograph No. 2 - Smaller Scale Oblique Aerial View of SIUC and Surrounding Region The second photograph that was taken of the SIUC campus from a helicopter which is flying higher than the previous photograph. This is a "low oblique' photograph. Look at this photograph and answer the questions in Part 2 on the Answer Sheet Page 1 and 2.

3. Photograph No. 3 - Aerial Photograph of the SIUC Campus and Surrounding Region The third photograph was taken from a high-flying aircraft with the camera pointing straight toward the ground. It shows the SIUC campus, countryside to the south, and part of the residential area of Carbondale. We will use this photograph to explore the concept of scale, to identify how different land uses appear on an aerial photograph, and to develop some ideas about causes for the patterns created by these land uses. Write your answer on Answer Sheet Page 2.
   1. What is the scale of the photograph, and how is it calculated? Review the discussion of scale in the text, page 26. Briefly, it is the ratio of the size of an object on a map, aerial photograph, or satellite image to the actual size of the object. Scale is expressed as "1 unit of distance on the map or photograph represents n units of distance on the ground." It is summarized as "1:n." For example if an object that was 100 m long (100,000 mm) on the ground, and was 10 mm long on a map or photograph, the scale is 10/100,000 or 1 to 10,000. It is written as "1:10,000."

      Use the football field as the object that you will use to estimate the scale of this aerial photograph. Faner Hall is the longest building on the SIUC campus. It is 100 yards long and 50 yards wide; if you add the end zones, it is 120 yards long. Remember that 100 yards is equal to 3600 inches or 91,440 mm. Using a ruler, measure the length of the football field on the aerial photograph and calculate the scale of the aerial photograph. You may want to use a ruler with a millimeter scale, and measure the length of the football field to the millimeter. As a guide to check your calculation, the scale should be in the order of 1:10,000 (as opposed to 1:1000 or 1:100,000). Write the scale of the aerial photograph on Answer Sheet page 2.

   2. Using the smaller scale black and white version of the aerial photograph shown as Answer Sheet Page 3, label areas on the photograph that show residential areas in Carbondale as "Residential". Label a pond or lake as "Water Body". Label agricultural land as "Agricultural Land". Label forestland as "Forest". For each of these land uses, briefly describe on Answer Sheet Page 4 what you observe about the pattern on the photograph that helps you identify the land use.

4. Satellite Image Map of Illinois

   The Illinois State Geological Survey has produced the Satellite Image Map of Illinois (which you can purchase from the Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, IL (217-333-4747) for $4 + $2 s/h). This map is based on data from a Landsat satellite, which is the source of many of the satellite images in the text. See southern California on page 37, the Himalayas on page 111, and the Nile River Delta on page 449. Also look at a photograph taken from the Space Shuttle of the Nile Delta on page 422. The satellite Image map of Illinois is rich in information. We will explore this through looking at different parts of the map.

   1. First, how big would the SIUC football field be on this map? Find where the scale of the map is given; it is 1:500,000. That is, 1 unit on the map represents 500,000 units on the ground. That is, on the map the SIUC football field is 1/500,000 its actual size. Therefore, how long would a football field that is 100 yards, or 91440 mm long, be on the map? Write your answer on the Answer Sheet Page 3. Also see if you can find the football field on the map. Can you find Faner hall? Can you find Campus Lake? Can you find the city of Carbondale? Can you find Crab Orchard Lake? Can you find O'Hare and Midway Airports? How large do you think a feature on the earth's surface needs to be in order to be appearing as a distinct object on the map?

   2. The dominant colors on the map seem to be various shades of red, shades of gray and a uniform dark pattern. See if you can determine what is represented by each major color. Write your answers on the Answer Sheet Page 4.

   3. What evidence do you see that agriculture is important in Illinois? Briefly describe the evidence you see on the map on Answer Sheet Page 4.

   4. Read the information about the map on the upper right of the sheet. Note that the dates for the Landsat imagery used to make the map is September 30 - October 25, 1982. Why are the agricultural lands in Illinois largely gray toned rather than some shade of red? How would they have appeared if the Landsat imagery had been in July, rather than in October? Answer these two questions on Answer Sheet Page 4.

   5. Can you find the area that includes the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois? What does it look like on the map? Write your answer on Answer Sheet Page 4.

   6. What evidence do you see that the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys are fertile for agriculture? Write your answer on Answer Sheet Page 4. 4g. Identify five other feature on the map and tell how you determined what it represents. Write your answer on Answer Sheet Page 4.

5. Photograph of Earth from Apollo 12
   1. Our next photograph is one of the most famous photos you will ever see. If you look in magazines, posters, on T-shirts and other places you will find it used as a symbol for the earth, or some corporation's advertising its concern for the welfare of the environment. What can you extract from this photograph?

   2. First, calculate its scale. I measured the approximate distance from the Nile Delta to southernmost Africa on the photograph as about 160 mm. The real distance is approximately 5000 miles. What is the scale of this map? Hint: figure out how many millimeters in 5000 miles and divide by 160. Express your answer to the nearest million. Write your answer on Answer Sheet Page 5.

   3. You can see many features of Africa and Antarctica on this photograph. We will focus on two of them first. What is the light brown (sandy) colored area in the northern part of Africa? Describe the south edge of this feature and what changes at this boundary. Hint: go to page 442 of your text to see a similar situation.

   4. Antarctica is almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle. If you can see Antarctica in this photograph, then it must be daytime there. Could this photograph have been taken in June? In December? Justify your conclusion. Write your answer on Answer Sheet Page 5.

   5. Identify five other objects on the photograph, and describe briefly how you identified each of them. Write your answer on Answer Sheet Page 5.

   Answer Sheet Page 1
   
   EXERCISE NO. 1 - VIEWING THE EARTH FROM ABOVE
   

   E-Mail Address	Name
   ID Number	Section	Date

   1. Photograph No. 1. Aerial View of SIUC: Photo on the Undergraduate Catalog Cover
      
      1. You are looking south over the "old campus" part of SIUC. Can you identify some of the buildings?

      2. If you are facing toward the south in this photograph and you can see the north and east walls of some of the buildings, which wall(s) are in the direct sunlight?

      3. Which way are the shadows of the trees facing (if you were at the bottom of a tree and looking along its shadow, which way would you be facing)?

      4. Approximately what time of day is it?

      5. If this is a work/school day, what is the evidence that this photograph was taken before or after classes began for the day?

   2. Photograph No. 2. Overview of SIUC Campus and Countryside to the South

      

      1. What is the evidence that this photograph was taken earlier/later in the growing season than the previous photograph? Hint: compare how dense the leaves on some of the trees are.

      2. What direction was the wind blowing? Hint: find a flag and see which way it is pointing.

      3. What time of day was this photograph taken? Was it still part of the work/school day? How do you know?

      4. What is the evidence in this photograph that Carbondale, Illinois is in a humid region? Briefly describe how you are deriving your answer.

   3. Photograph No. 3. Aerial Photograph of the SIUC Campus and Surrounding Area
      1. Calculation of the scale of the aerial Photograph:

      2. The length of the football field on the photograph is (include your unit of measure)
         The actual length of the football field (in the same units of measure) is
         The scale of this aerial photograph is 1 :

      3. Briefly characterize the unique aspects of the pattern for each land use as you see it on the photograph.

         Residential land Use

         Agricultural Land Use
         Forest
         Water Body

      4. Satellite Image Map of Illinois
         1. The SIUC football field would be
            on this map (include unit of measure).

            The smallest object you can see on this satellite image map is about:

         2. Features represented by the colors red, gray and black are:

         3. Evidence that agriculture is important in Illinois:

         4. Reason why agricultural land is shown in gray tones:

         5. Evidence for Shawnee National Forest

         6. Evidence that river bottoms are productive agricultural land.

         7. Five other features on the map.

         8. Earth from Apollo 12
            1. The scale of this photograph is approximately 1:

            2. Light feature in northern Africa and how you can identify it.

            3. Is this a June or December photo, and how do you know?

            4. Five other features on the Apollo photograph of Earth.