Table of Contents
Official Course Description:
Earth, environmental, and planetary systems are monitored routinely from space using scientific instrumentation on satellites. Of particular importance are remote-sensing instruments that observe e.g. surface structures, ocean dynamics, and atmospheric processes. Spacecraft measurements of various types and different formats are made accessible to the public for scientific analysis, interpretation, and modeling on repositories and archives hosted by ESA, NASA, and other space agencies. In this module students are introduced to space-borne observations of Earth and planetary system compartments and of global geophysical fields. Of relevance are surface processes, ocean and climate dynamics, and the Earth's gravity and magnetic fields. Analysis and modeling techniques for satellite data are also compared with classical geophysical remote-sensing of the subsurface using seismic measurements. We discuss opportunities and implications of special orbit geometries, remote-sensing principles and instrument types, data organization and structure, data-processing workflows including archival, retrieval, preprocessing, display and preparation for further analysis, as well as data interpretation in the light of spatial structures, relevant processes, and important numerical models.
Module Assessment
The module CO-465 Geophysical Remote Sensing consists of three courses:
- CO-465-A Earth and Planetary Surfaces in Remote Sensing Data
- CO-465-B Climate System Dynamics Observed from Space
- CO-465-C Global Geophysical Fields and Models
Term paper: PDF document to be submitted on the first day of the Spring 2021 final examination period, with separate chapters for the three courses. A term paper is expected to be about 10 000 words (TEXT ONLY). Longer term papers are accepted but should not exceed 20 000 words.
Digital supplements: e.g., data, graphics, and program code; to be uploaded on dedicated folders of the course platforms.
The three courses contribute equally towards the term paper and the final grade of the module CO-465 Geophysical Remote Sensing.
Submission DEADLINE: 18th May 2021
BONUS Acheivements (BA):
Each of the three courses contributes up to 2.5 % (= 2.5 bonus points, equivalent to 0.167 grade points) in bonus achievements towards the final module grade.
For this course - timely / proper documentation of digital supplements (code)
Additionally, students may prepare and present a poster on an individual course project, contributing up to 2.5% in BAs towards the final module grade. Topic and format as well as the presentation context and other specifics are defined by the instructors. POSTER PRESENTATION date: 11.05.2021
In total, the BAs of all three courses may contribute up to 10 % (= 10 bonus points, equivalent to 0.67 grade points) towards the final module grade.
There are no make-up opportunities for missed bonus achievements, neither in cases of illness nor for other reasons.
Tentative Time Table
| Nr | Date | Start | End | Topics | Lecture Notes / Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tue, 2. Feb. 2021 | 15:45 | 17:00 | Introduction part 1 | |
| 2 | Tue, 13. Apr. 2021 | 15:45 | 17:00 | Introduction part 2: Remote Sensing | |
| 3 | Th, 15. Apr. 2021 | 15:45 | 17:00 | Eiffel Excursion | |
| 5 | Fri, 16. Apr. 2021 | 15:45 | 17:00 | Eiffel Excursion | |
| 6 | Tue, 20. Apr. 2021 | 15:45 | 17:00 | Heincke Excursion ?! | |
| 7 | Th, 22. Apr. 2021 | 15:45 | 17:00 | Heincke Excursion ?! | |
| 8 | Fri, 23. Apr. 2021 | 15:45 | 17:00 | Heincke Excursion ?! | |
| 9 | Tue, 27. Apr. 2021 | 15:45 | 17:00 | Heincke Excursion ?! | |
| 10 | Th, 29. Apr. 2021 | 15:45 | 17:00 | Processing Tools & Data: Working with Earth Explorer (EE) | |
| 11 | Fri, 30. Apr. 2021 | 15:45 | 17:00 | Drones and remote sensing | |
| 12 | Tue, 4. May 2021 | 15:45 | 17:00 | Feature Analysis Change Detection, Classification | |
| 13 | Th, 6. May 2021 | 15:45 | 17:00 | Radar (SAR) Interferometry | |
| 14 | Fri, 7. May 2021 | 15:45 | 17:00 | Planetary Processes, Project Introduction | |
| 15 | Tue, 11. May 2021 | 15:45 | 17:00 | POSTER PRESENTATION !!! |
Useful and Interesting Links
- Coastal watch remote sensing - https://coastwatch.gitbook.io/satellite-course/lectures/remote-sensing-basics
- Github RS Textbook - https://github.com/calekochenour/remote-sensing-textbook
- Fundamentals of Remote Sensing - https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sites/www.nrcan.gc.ca/files/earthsciences/pdf/resource/tutor/fundam/pdf/fundamentals_e.pdf
- Principles of Remote Sensing Book - https://webapps.itc.utwente.nl/librarywww/papers_2009/general/principlesremotesensing.pdf
- University of Colorado, Boulder - Multispectral - https://www.earthdatascience.org/courses/use-data-open-source-python/multispectral-remote-sensing/intro-multispectral-data/
- Planetary Surface Processes Book (Jacobs Online Library) - https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/jacob/reader.action?docID=775105&ppg=1
- Planetary Surface Processes - conference paper - planetary-geological-processes.pdf
Software
- SNAP - https://step.esa.int/main/download/snap-download/
- Panoply - https://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/panoply/
- Bilko - https://www.learn-eo.org/software.php
- Sarbian - https://eo-college.org/sarbian/
- Cloud Compare - https://cloudcompare.org/
Contact Details
Vikram Unnithan, v.unnithan@jacobs-university.de, Office: Room 98, R3
TA - TBD (still to be assigned)
Project Ideas
- https://calekochenour.github.io/remote-sensing-textbook/introduction.html
- copernicus4regions_2018.pdf
- Google Earth Engine Applications - https://www.mdpi.com/books/pdfdownload/book/1262
- https://www.learn-eo.org/lessons.php
Attachments