Remote Sensing & GIS Integration 5-Day Course Outline - KSA, Oman & GCC

Master Satellite Imagery Analysis & GIS Integration in Saudi Arabia, Oman & Gulf Region

The Remote Sensing & GIS Integration Course is a comprehensive 5-day program for geospatial professionals, environmental analysts, and planners across Saudi Arabia (KSA), Oman, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain. This hands-on training covers satellite imagery processing, image classification, change detection, and GIS integration for urban planning, agriculture, environmental monitoring, and infrastructure development throughout the GCC.

Why Remote Sensing & GIS Training is Essential in the Middle East?

• Vision 2030 monitoring: tracking NEOM, Red Sea, Qiddiya progress

• Urban expansion: Riyadh, Jeddah, Dubai, Doha growth mapping

• Environmental monitoring: desertification, coastal changes, land degradation

• Agriculture optimization: crop monitoring, irrigation in arid regions

• Water resource management: groundwater, wadi monitoring

• Oil & gas: exploration, pipeline monitoring, leak detection

• Infrastructure planning: roads, utilities, smart cities

• Saudi Aramco, ADNOC, PDO: environmental compliance

Who Should Attend?

• GIS analysts seeking remote sensing skills

• Environmental consultants

• Urban planners monitoring city growth

• Agricultural specialists

• Civil engineers planning infrastructure

• Government officials in municipalities

• Oil & gas professionals

• Researchers and students

5-Day Course Structure

Day 1: Remote Sensing Fundamentals

Introduction to Remote Sensing

• What is remote sensing? Applications in GCC

• Active vs. passive sensors

• Satellite vs. aerial platforms

• Cost-benefit for GCC projects

Electromagnetic Spectrum

• Visible (RGB): natural color imaging

• Near-Infrared (NIR): vegetation analysis

• SWIR: moisture, geology

• Thermal: heat mapping

• Microwave/Radar: all-weather imaging

• Spectral signatures of materials

Satellite Systems

• Landsat: 30m, free data since 1972

• Sentinel-2: 10m, free European data

• MODIS: 250m-1km, daily coverage

• High-resolution commercial: WorldView, Pleiades (0.5m)

• SAR: Sentinel-1, RADARSAT

• Saudi satellites: SaudiSat series

• UAE: KhalifaSat, DubaiSat

Image Characteristics

• Spatial resolution: pixel size

• Spectral resolution: band count

• Temporal resolution: revisit frequency

• Radiometric resolution: bit depth

• Trade-offs and application selection

Data Access

• Free sources: USGS EarthExplorer, Copernicus Hub

• NASA Earthdata, Google Earth Engine

• Commercial providers

• Regional GCC portals

• Cloud platforms: AWS, Google Cloud

Day 2: Image Processing Fundamentals

Image Pre-Processing

• Radiometric correction: DN to reflectance

• Atmospheric correction

• Geometric correction: orthorectification

• Image registration and mosaicking

• Pan-sharpening techniques

• Practical exercise: Landsat preparation

Image Enhancement

• Contrast stretching

• Spatial filtering

• Principal Component Analysis (PCA)

• Color composites: natural, false color, SWIR

• Optimizing for GCC desert conditions

Band Combinations

• True color (RGB): natural appearance

• False color infrared: vegetation in red

• Agriculture composite: SWIR-NIR-Blue

• Urban composite: SWIR-NIR-Red

• Geology composite: SWIR bands

• Best for GCC applications

Vegetation Indices

• NDVI: (NIR - Red) / (NIR + Red)

  • Vegetation health and biomass

  • Agricultural monitoring

• EVI: Enhanced Vegetation Index

• SAVI: Soil Adjusted for arid regions

• NDWI: Water detection

• Time-series analysis

Software Tools

• ENVI: professional processing

• ArcGIS Image Analyst

• QGIS with SCP: free alternative

• SNAP: free Sentinel processing

• Google Earth Engine: cloud analysis

• Python: rasterio, GDAL

Day 3: Image Classification & Analysis

Classification Fundamentals

• Supervised vs. unsupervised

• Training sample collection

• Classification algorithms

• Accuracy assessment

• Error matrix and Kappa

Unsupervised Classification

• K-means clustering

• ISODATA: iterative clustering

• Determining optimal classes

• Applications: land cover mapping

• Practical: Desert classification

Supervised Classification

• Training site selection

• Maximum Likelihood

• Support Vector Machine (SVM)

• Random Forest: machine learning

• Comparing performance

• Practical: Urban vs. vegetation

Object-Based Analysis (OBIA)

• Segmentation: grouping pixels

• Object features: spectral, spatial

• Rule-based classification

• Building extraction

• Road network extraction

• GCC city applications

Accuracy Assessment

• Ground truthing: field verification

• Creating reference data

• Confusion matrix

• Overall accuracy and Kappa

• Improving results

• Reporting standards

Day 4: Change Detection & Applications

Change Detection Techniques

• Post-classification comparison

• Image differencing

• Image ratioing

• PCA change detection

• NDVI differencing

• Method selection

Urban Growth Monitoring

• Mapping expansion: Riyadh, Dubai examples

• Built-up area indices

• Impervious surface mapping

• Infrastructure tracking

• NEOM monitoring

• Smart city planning

• Time-series analysis

Environmental Monitoring

• Desertification assessment

• Land degradation tracking

• Coastal zone changes

• Mangrove monitoring (UAE, Oman)

• Wadi flow analysis

• Sand dune migration

• Practical: GCC environmental change

Agricultural Applications

• Crop classification: date palms, wheat

• Center pivot detection

• Crop health: NDVI assessment

• Water stress identification

• Yield prediction

• Farm boundary mapping

• Case study: Saudi agriculture

Water Resources

• Surface water mapping

• Water quality: turbidity, chlorophyll

• Groundwater zones

• Wadi mapping

• Irrigation water estimation

• Flood risk assessment

• Practical: Water resource mapping

Day 5: GIS Integration & Advanced Topics

RS-GIS Integration

• Raster-vector workflows

• Classification to polygons

• Overlay analysis

• Zonal statistics

• Multi-criteria evaluation

• Database integration

Digital Elevation Models

• DEM sources: SRTM (30m), ASTER, TanDEM-X

• Terrain: slope, aspect, hillshade

• Watershed delineation

• Viewshed analysis

• 3D visualization

• Infrastructure planning

• Practical: Saudi terrain analysis

Radar Remote Sensing (SAR)

• SAR fundamentals

• All-weather capability

• Sentinel-1: free C-band

• InSAR: subsidence detection

• Oil spill detection

• Soil moisture

• Flood mapping

Thermal Remote Sensing

• Land Surface Temperature (LST)

• Urban heat island mapping

• Water temperature

• Fire detection

• Geothermal exploration

• GCC heat environment applications

Google Earth Engine

• Cloud-based analysis

• JavaScript editor

• Petabytes of imagery

• Time-series at scale

• Change detection workflows

• NDVI trends over decades

• Case study: Saudi long-term monitoring

Machine Learning & AI

• Deep learning classification

• CNNs: Convolutional Neural Networks

• Transfer learning

• Automated feature extraction

• Big data processing

• Future trends

GCC-Specific Applications

• Vision 2030 monitoring

• NEOM tracking: construction progress

• Oil & gas: pipeline monitoring

• Archaeological discovery

• Mining monitoring

• Coastal erosion: Red Sea, Gulf

• Renewable energy site selection

• Smart city development

Project Workflow

• Defining objectives

• Data acquisition

• Processing workflow

• Quality control

• Validation and accuracy

• Reporting and visualization

• Cost/time estimation

Capstone Project

• Comprehensive project:

  • GCC-relevant problem

  • Satellite imagery processing

  • Classification or change detection

  • GIS integration

  • Professional maps

  • Class presentation

• Instructor feedback

Course Review

• Key concepts recap

• Software recommendations

• Career pathways

• Online resources

• Advanced training

• Certificate presentation

• GCC networking

Certification Benefits

Professional Recognition

• Remote sensing-GIS certificate

• 25-40% salary increase for specialists

• Enhanced employability

• Environmental consulting compliance

• International opportunities

Organizational Value

• Cost-effective monitoring

• Large-area rapid assessment

• Historical analysis over decades

• Improved compliance

• Better planning decisions

• Resource management

• Disaster response

Training Delivery Options

• Classroom: Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Muscat, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha

• Virtual instructor-led: Live online

• In-company: Customized (minimum 6 participants)

• Hands-on labs: Real GCC imagery

• Software: ENVI, ArcGIS, QGIS/SNAP

• Industry-specific: Environmental, urban, agriculture, oil & gas

Transform Data into Intelligence

Remote sensing and GIS skills are essential for monitoring Vision 2030, sustainable development, and environmental challenges across Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the GCC. Master satellite technology to drive data-driven decisions in the Middle East.

Master remote sensing and GIS and unlock satellite intelligence for the Gulf region.