Aside from introduction to the general functions of ArcGIS as a tool to manage, analyze and visualize geographical information (More at What is ArcGIS?), we also had the opportunity to work with Landsat. It is a remote sensing program using solar power satellites to capture the images of objects and surfaces on Earth since 1972. Data from Landsat, hence, adds a valuable advantage to the geographical analysis as it provides a series of continuous raster data imagery of any identical area in the world with approximate interval of 16 days. For instance, with the sample question ‘how has the construction of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam, located in northern B.C., impacted the river system (landscape, sediment loads) of the Peace River?’ the Landsat would be an effective to in monitoring the change made to the adjacent landscape or the terminal landscape of the river over the course of the dam operation.

×W’s picked-up skills×

• familiarized with the general procedures of ArcGIS and its interface as a whole for further practise in the program 
• introduced to the coordinate system and the projection, and ability to manage them in collaborating between different data layers
• engaged ArcGIS with Landsat data to make a before-and-after map for any observed location