Spatial Ecology Research Facility
The Spatial Ecology Research Facility (SERF) was set up in 2006 to enhance the ability of Otago ecologists, including staff and postgraduate students, to address research questions with a spatial dimension. SERF is physically located in the School of Surveying and takes the form of an office in which networked computers and specialized software enable the integration and analysis of spatial information derived from remote sensing imagery, aerial photographs, GPS and other geo-referenced field data.
Software and equipment:
- ESRI ArcGIS Desktop (GIS)
- Leica Geosystems: Erdas Imagine (Image Processing) & Leica Photogrammetry Suite (Photo-Interpretation)
- Leica GISData Pro (GPS data processing)
- PCI Geomatica (Image Processing)
- Definiens eCognition (Image Processing)
- PC workstations, 19" single/dual screen, 180 GB hard drive, DVD writer
- Terra Byte off-site backup system
- A3 printer Epson Photo 2100
- 1 GS20 LEICA GPS receiver
Students enrolled in 200 level and above Surveying papers have 24 hour seven day access to the relevant lab(s). After-hours access to the computer labs is by swipe card (student ID cards).
The School of Surveying Lab Rules defines the use of computing facilities in the School.
Access policy
There is a scale of user charges in order to accrue funds for SERF to cover depreciation, servicing and repair costs. Base fees can range from $500 to $1000+ per annum, depending on the scale of the project and access to funding by users. This policy may change in the future depending on the use of the facility. No training or on-call technical support is currently available in SERF. Software and equipment are provided as is. A long term use of SERF will require evidences of basic expertise in GIS (SURV papers, completion of ESRI courses, or others). People wishing to access SERF should in the first instance contact Pascal Sirguey.