Surveying and Geoinformatics

A geographic information system is a computer-based system that allows the study of natural and man-made phenomena with an explicit bearing in space. To this end, the GIS allows data entry, data manipulation, and production of interpretable output that may teach us lessons about the phenomena. The focus is to impart useful skills on the students in order to prepare them for specialized fields such as Geosciences, Forestry, Ecology, Meteorology, Marine Science, etc. Topics to be covered include illustration and overview of GIS applications. Spatial data infrastructures; metadata, search/access, data warehousing, data mining, Standards, Specific programmes of countries, especially Nigeria’s Geospatial Data Infrastructure (NGDI), United Nations Environment Programmes (UNEP); Global Resources Information Database (GRID); Digital Earth; Geospatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI); Global Mapping; common standards: OpenGIS, ISOTC211. Presentation of spatially variable data using common softwares.

This course is a compulsory higher level course in Surveying and Geoinformatics for the award of a bachelor of technology degree. It is designed purely for students in surveying and Geoinformatics discipline. The course will introduce the students to the Basic Concepts, Theory and uses of map projection, geometry of the ellipsoid, Guassian fundamental qualities. Theory of distortions.Datum surface and projection surface. Various projection systems: plane, conics, cylindrical, conformal, equidistance, equivalent, azimuthal projections etc., concept of conformal projection, transverse Mercator projection, Nigeria transverse Mercator(UTM). Definitions, procedures and characteristics, use of Cauchy- Rieman’s equations, Transformation of coordinate from geographic to NTM and to UTM and vice versa.

This course is focuses on the surveying carried out on or in water to determine the depth of water and to depict the topographic nature of the sea-bed; designed for students in surveying and geoinformatics discipline. The course will enable students to understand all the processes and principles involved in marine operations.

The use of digital images in photogrammetric processes is now firmly established both in research and industry. It is therefore important for students of photogrammetry to become familiar with the instrumentation and methodology involved in the processing of digital images for the extraction of map-related information.To lay the foundation for a good understanding of the techniques of digital photogrammetry, this course first touches on important concepts of analytical photogrammetry before providing an introduction to digital photogrammetry. It is designed to equip students with the knowledge to apply fundamental principles of photogrammetry to the use of digital images. It will examine the methodology, instrumentation and the data outputs related to analytical and digital photogrammetry. Topics to be covered include analytical relative orientation based on collinearity and coplanarity principles, analytic absolute orientation, GPS and Aerotriangulation, GPS-assisted flight planning terrestrial and close range photogrammetry, digital stereoplotters, digital orthophotos, digital monoplotting, methods in relative orientation, and the use of digital photogrammetric workstation as data acquisition module for GIS databases.

This course provides a general introduction to digital map production. It deals with the principles, concepts, software and hardware necessary to produce digital maps. It also investigates how computers store and analyze digital maps. The lectures emphasize the basic concepts for understanding the process of map data presentation and use. Topics to be covered include digital representation of graphic objects, hardware and software graphic system, coordinate transformation for orthogonal and perspective projections, digital representation of cartographic symbols and name placement, raster and vector graphics, 2D and 3G graphics, digital mapping using rectangular, polar and curvilinear coordinates, data structure for computer graphics and map analysis.

This course is the first course in geodesy designed primarily for students in Surveying and Geoinformatics. It is a course that provides first hands information on shape and size of the earth and the historical development of geodesy. Topics to be covered includes: Definitions, aims and historical development of geodesy. Methods used in Geodesy, Factors used for classification in Geodesy. Various representation of the figure of the earth. Coordinate systems: terrestrial and celestial coordinates systems, satellite coordinate system, inertial coordinates, curvilinear and Cartesian coordinate systems. Three-dimensional geodesy, Point positioning (astro and satellite), relative and absolute geodetic positioning.

This course is an aspect of geodesy and it is designed primarily for students in Surveying and Geoinformatics. It is a course that provides first hands information on the determination of the gravity field of the earth. Topics to be covered includes: vectors analysis, Fundamental of potential theory. Field theory. Theory of potential- gravitational and attractions, rings, annuli, infinite plates and solid bodies (sphere and spheroids). Potential expressed in spherical harmonics. Clairaut’s theorem. Potential of heterogeneous sphere. Rotating and standard bodies. General surface spherical harmonics. Normalization, spherical harmonics analysis, Change of axis. Solid spherical harmonics.