GEOGG142 Global Monitoring of Environment and Society

(15 credits)

Staff: Professor Jan-Peter Muller, Mathias Disney, Dr Seymour Laxon

Aims: Students will be introduced into the fast-evolving world of the international GEO and the EU GMES which will be the future cornerstone of Europe’s role in Earth Observation. As well as background information on the programmatics and jargon alphabet soup, students will be introduced to a brief overview of Earth System Science, novel remote sensing techniques, new EO data products from current and future missions, especially ESA Earth Explorers and the GMES Sentinels.

Content: To define the objectives of a GMES system within the context of the GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems) and its nine societal benefit areas.  To describe the scientific underpinning for many of these societal benefit areas, including improved weather forecasting, the monitoring of climate change and the monitoring and prediction of natural hazards. To investigate the needs for EO monitoring of human security concerned with transmigration of people, diseases and animals and what remote sensing tools and techniques exist to address these needs. To study the requirements for accurate calibration and validation of instruments to be able to address the needs of GMES, especially related to long-term monitoring. To describe the fundamental principles of data and system inter-operability and to explore the role of OGC protocols within GMES. To provide an introduction into the physics of different geophysical and biophysical retrieval techniques. To assess the progress of the GEOSS 10 year Implementation Plan in the context of international programmes.

Assessment: One 2,500 word essay (50%) and one unseen two hour examination (50%)