The aim of this course is to give a practical introduction to the R programming language for geoscientists working with spatial and/or temporal data. It is designed for participants with a basic understanding of programming using a computer language, although this is not a prerequisite as a short introduction will be given on the first morning.
On the first day we will cover an introduction to R including an overview of the different data structures and some best practices. The concept of packages will be introduced with attention on the tidyverse ecosystem and how it varies with respect to the base-level R programming code. Within this comparison there will be an introduction to plotting and report writing. Finally, the concept of loops will be introduced, and compared to vectorized functions for the writing of efficient code. Lastly, there will be a short introduction to parallelization.
The first day will cover quite a few topics at a high level and will not go into depth. The aim of the following one and half days is to reinforce these concepts with a focus on two main types of data: (i) spatial data; and (ii) time-series data. Spatial data analysis will focus on examples including interpolation and down-sampling. Time-series analysis will include examples focused on trend identification, detrending and change-point analysis. For both types of data the concept of uncertainty will be touched upon.
The structure of the course includes multiple short sessions with a combination of lectures and exercises. Lectures will be interactive coding sessions, whilst the exercises are designed to reinforce the concepts and approaches that are presented and discussed.
Day 1 (10hr00 – 17hr00)
Day 2 (9hr00 – 17hr00)
Day 3 (9hr00 – 12hr30)
The detailed program will be available as the course approaches.
How to Get There
To reach the building from the Neuchâtel train station(Gare Nord), take bus line 107 and get off at the Portes Rouges stop. From there, cross the bridge, and you’ll find the UniMail building. Alternatively, you can walk directly from the train station via Esplanade de l’Europe, which takes about 15-20 minutes.