placeholder image
  • Contact Info
Publications in VIVO
 

Isaacs, Rachel Elizabeth

Teaching Assistant Professor

Positions

Research Areas research areas

Research

research overview

  • My research uses a cross-disciplinary approach to address climate change impacts on treeline in the subarctic. This research combines field work and computer modeling and assessment to explore the the influence of top-down and bottom-up controls on spatial patterns of forest expansion and tree growth.

keywords

  • Biogeography, climate change, landscape ecology, spatial ecology, GIS, remote sensing, land cover change, treeline

Publications

selected publications

Teaching

courses taught

  • ATOC 3600 - Principles of Climate
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2021
    Describes the basic components of the climate system: the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and lithosphere. Investigates the basic physical processes that determine climate and link the components of the climate system. Covers the hydrological cycle and its role in climate, climate stability and global change. Recommended prerequisites: one semester of calculus and ATOC 1060 or ATOC 3300 or GEOG 3301 or GEOG 1001 or ATOC major. Same as GEOG 3601 and ENVS 3600.
  • ENVS 3600 - Principles of Climate
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2021
    Describes the basic components of the climate system: the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and lithosphere. Investigates the basic physical processes that determine climate and link the components of the climate system. Covers the hydrological cycle and its role in climate, climate stability and global change. Recommended prerequisites: one semester of calculus and ATOC 1060 or ATOC 3300 or GEOG 3301 or GEOG 1001. Same as GEOG 3601 and ATOC 3600.
  • GEOG 1001 - Environmental Systems: Climate and Vegetation
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2020 / Spring 2021 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2023 / Spring 2024
    Lect. and lab. Introduces the atmospheric environment of the Earth: elements and controls of climate and their implications for hydrology, vegetation, and soils. Emphasizes distribution of physical features across the Earth's surface and interactions between humans and their environment, especially those leading to global change on the decade to century time scale.
  • GEOG 3053 - Cartography: Visualization and Information Design
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2023
    Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the fundamentals of cartographic design. Emphasis on the science and art of map design in a GIS environment. Students will learn how to build a spatial database, implement best practice for processing various types of environmental and social data and apply basic visual analytics to understand spatial patterns. Recommended prerequisite: basic familiarity with computers and an introductory course in statistics (may be taken concurrently).
  • GEOG 3351 - Biogeography
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Spring 2024
    Surveys and analyzes plant and animal distributions on a world scale from ecological and historical perspectives. Emphasizes human impact on species.
  • GEOG 3601 - Principles of Climate
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2021
    Describes the basic components of the climate system: the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and lithosphere. Investigates the basic physical processes that determine climate and link the components of the climate system. Covers the hydrological cycle and its role in climate, climate stability and global change. Recommended prerequisites: one semester of calculus and ATOC 1060 or ATOC 3300 or GEOG 3301 or GEOG 1001. Same as ATOC 3600 and ENVS 3600.
  • GEOG 4001 - Topics in Physical Geography
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2022 / Fall 2023
    Examines various topics in physical geography that are not typically covered in the curriculum. Offered intermittently depending on student demand and availability of instructors.
  • GEOG 4093 - Remote Sensing of the Environment
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Spring 2024
    Covers acquisition and interpretation of environmental data by remote sensing. Discusses theory and sensors as well as manual and computerized interpretation methods. Stresses infrared and microwave portions of the spectrum. Same as GEOG 5093 and GEOL 4093 and GEOL 5093.
  • GEOG 4241 - Principles of Geomorphology
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2020
    Studies weathering, mass-wasting, fluvial, wind, and marine processes and the resulting landforms. Same as GEOL 4241.
  • GEOG 4371 - Forest Geography: Principles and Dynamics
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2021 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2023
    Surveys principles of forest geography and ecology. Includes both individual tree responses to environmental factors and species interactions within communities. Emphasizes forest dynamics and their relation to management problems. Same as GEOG 5371.
  • GEOG 5093 - Remote Sensing of the Environment
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023
    Covers acquisition and interpretation of environmental data by remote sensing. Discusses theory and sensors as well as manual and computerized interpretation methods. Stresses infrared and microwave portions of the spectrum. Same as GEOG 4093 and GEOL 4093 and GEOL 5093.
  • GEOG 5100 - Special Topics: Geography
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2022
    Covers various topics outside of the normal curriculum; offered intermittently depending on student demand and availability of faculty. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours.
  • GEOG 5371 - Forest Geography: Principles and Dynamics
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2022 / Fall 2023
    Surveys principles of forest geography and ecology. Includes both individual tree responses to environmental factors and species interactions within communities. Emphasizes forest dynamics and their relation to management problems. Same as GEOG 4371.
  • GEOL 4093 - Remote Sensing of the Environment
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2022
    Covers acquisition and interpretation of environmental data by remote sensing. Discusses theory and sensors, as well as manual and computerized interpretation methods. Stresses infrared and microwave portions of the spectrum. Same as GEOL 5093 and GEOG 4093 and GEOG 5093.
  • GEOL 4241 - Principles of Geomorphology
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2020
    Studies weathering, mass-wasting, fluvial, wind, and marine processes and the resulting landforms. Same as GEOG 4241.
  • GEOL 5093 - Remote Sensing of the Environment
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Fall 2019
    Covers acquisition and interpretation of environmental data by remote sensing. Discusses theory and sensors as well as manual and computerized interpretation methods. Stresses infrared and microwave portions of the spectrum. Same as GEOL 4093 and GEOG 4093 and GEOG 5093.

Background