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University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Jim Merchant

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Jim Merchant

Welcome! I’m Jim Merchant, Professor and Director of the SNR Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies (CALMIT).  I also hold a courtesy appointment in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture.  I have been a faculty member at UNL since 1989.  By training I am a geographer, so my principal SNR affiliation is with the Faculty of Geography and Geographic Information Sciences. My research and teaching interests focus on applications of geographic information technologies  -- remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) -- to environmental issues.

I teach undergraduate and graduate courses in both these areas, including GEOG 217,  Mapping Sciences in the 21st Century and NRES 412/812, Geographic Information Systems.  During the past several years my research has dealt with 1) strategies for land cover characterization using digital multispectral satellite data; 2) spatial and contextual analysis of digital images; and 3) the design of spatial models that can be employed in GIS to aid in the management of natural resources. This research has been funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and several Nebraska state agencies.

James Merchant

Among other things, I have worked on development of a global 1-km land cover database derived from satellite imagery, assessment of the status of biodiversity protection under the Nebraska Gap Analysis Project, methods for incorporating land cover data in spatial models and techniques for using GIS in lake water quality assessment and groundwater pollution risk assessment. Recently I have been collaborating with the Nebraska GIS Council and the Nebraska Office of the Chief Information Officer to design and implement a statewide web-based geospatial data portal for Nebraska.

 

 

Key Research Publications

  • Merchant, J. W. and S. Narumalani. 2009. Integration of Remote Sensing and GIS, Chapter 17 in Handbook of Remote Sensing (T. Warner, D. Nellis and G. Foody, eds.). Sage Publications.
  • Dappen, P.R., I. Ratcliffe, C. Robbins and J.W. Merchant. 2008. Mapping Agricultural Land Cover for Hydrologic Modeling in the Platte River Watershed of Nebraska. Great Plains Research, 18(1): 39-52.
  • Bulley, H., D. Marx, J. Merchant, J. Holz and A. Holz. 2008. A Comparison of Nebraska Reservoir Classes Estimated from Watershed-Based Classification Models and Ecoregions, Journal of Environmental Informatics, 11(2): 90-102.
  • Bulley, H., J. Merchant, D. Marx, J. Holz and A. Holz. 2007. A GIS-based Approach to Watershed Classification for Nebraska Reservoirs, Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 43:605-621.
  • Loveland, T.R. and J. W. Merchant. 2004. Ecoregions and Ecoregionalization: Geographical and Ecological Perspectives, Environmental Management, 34:S1-S13.
  • Vogelmann, D. Helder, R. Morfitt, M. Choate, J. Merchant and H. Bulley. 2001. Effects of Landsat-5 TM and Landsat-7 ETM+ Radiometric and Geometric Calibrations on Landscape Characterization, Remote Sensing of Environment, 78 (1-2), 55-70.
  • Crawford, T. M., D. J. Stensrud, F. Mora, J. W. Merchant, and P. J. Wetzel. 2001. The Insertion of a High-resolution Land Cover Dataset into MM5/PLACE. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 2 (5), 453-468.
  • Loveland, T., B. Reed, J. Brown, D. Ohlen, Z. Zhu, L. Yang and J. Merchant. 2000. Development of a Global Land Cover Characteristics Database and IGBP DISCover from 1-km AVHRR Data. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 21,1303-1330.

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Contact Information
Title Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologist (CALMIT) Director
Professor
Remote Sensing/GIS Scientist
 
SNR Position Geography & GIScience Faculty Area Leader 
Affiliation (index) CALMIT 
Address 306 Hardin Hall
3310 Holdrege Street
Lincoln NE
68583-0973 
Phone 402-472-7531 
Fax 402-472-2946 
Email jmerchant1@unl.edu  
 
Educational Background
BS
 Towson State University, 1969 - Geography
MA
 University of Kansas, 1973 - Geography
PhD
 University of Kansas, 1974 - Geography
 
Academic Information
Potential Advising for Graduate Program Master of Arts with a Specialization in
  • Geographic Information Systems
Master of Science with a Specialization in
  • Geographic Information Systems
  • Remote Sensing
Doctor of Philosophy with a Specialization in
  • Geographic Information Systems
Courses Taught in the Current Semester
Course Number Course Title Day Time Cross Listings
GEOG 217  Map and Air Photo Interpretation  TR  0800-0915 A  n/a 
GEOG 898  Advanced Special Problems - Prosmnr: Research Methods & Pro Devel  MW  0200-0250 P  None 
GEOG 902  General Seminar  F  0200-0250 P  n/a 
NRES 999  Doctoral Dissertation  ARR  ARR  None 
NRES 999  Doctoral Dissertation  ARR  ARR  None 
Additional Information
SNR Faculties Geography/GIScience, Water, Human Dimensions  
Areas of Interest Remote Sensing, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) 
Contact Preference Email 
Notable Website http://www.calmit.unl.edu/ 

 

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