Contact Information

Department of Geography
University of the Fraser Valley
33844 King Rd.
Abbotsford, B.C.
V2S 7M8
Email: Scott.Shupe@ufv.ca
Local phone 4123 Abbotsford
Office A406M Abbotsford

Biography

My education includes a BSc in Geology (Dalhousie), a Diploma in Remote Sensing (College of Geographic Sciences), a MEng in Surveying Engineering (University of New Brunswick) and a PhD in Renewable Natural Resource Studies (University of Arizona). I have also worked or done research in the GIS/remote sensing industry in California, Colorado, and Switzerland. I also spent a year and a half in rural Japan.

The mosaic of landscapes on the earth is continually changing from both anthropogenic and natural causes.  What is the extent of these changes?  What is the pattern of these changes over time?  Unprecedented advances in earth observation technologies (remote sensing) have given us the ability to answer these questions using images from in-the-sky sensors, a recent example being monitoring of oil slick extent and impacts in the Gulf of Mexico.  Further developments in geographic information systems (GIS) and other geospatial technologies provide society with additional tools to help us understand the impact of these changes on the environment, whether it be within one's community or on a regional or even planetary scale.  Today free tools such as Google Earth and ArcGIS Explorer can be used by anyone to study general changes and impacts to the environment using earth observation and GIS data.  However, enhanced methodologies are necessary to better quantify and understand the impact of environmental change.  In this regard, I am involved in the development and application of techniques to map and analyze changes in land use and land cover beyond the basic capabilities of tools available on the Internet. 

Research Field

My particular emphasis is on the use of integrated remote sensing-GIS modeling methods, including object-oriented methods.  I have researched and applied these methodologies in a wide variety of environments from urban to arid to forested.  Current research involves the application of modeling techniques to understand the nuances of land cover change on forested and urbanizing watersheds in southern British Columbia.  My research is closely tied to my teaching at UFV; in particular the development of a Certificate in GIS (Fall 2010) at UFV.