Spring 2005, 3 Credits, Course Index #49952, 49953
MW 1:10-2:30 PM (4th Period), Blake Hall Room 101
Class website: http://marine.rutgers.edu/courses/rs/
Lead Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Francis - Rm 206 Blake Hall
732 708 1217/732 932 7684 - francis@imcs.rutgers.edu
Textbooks: Kidder & Vonder Haar (1995), Satellite Meteorology: An Introduction (required)
Stewart (1985) Methods of Satellite Oceanography (supplemental)
Prerequisites: One-year of undergraduate physics.
Grading Policy: Final averages will be calculated from grades on homework, 2 mid-term exams, and the student term project:
Homework: Homework must be handed in at the beginning of class on the appropriate due date listed on the assignment. Late homework will be discounted 10%. Homework over one week late will not be accepted. All work must be shown for full credit.
Exams: Exams will be given in class and will be closed book. Make up exams will only be given in the event of illness or other grave circumstance, or by prior arrangement
Term Project: Students will pursue a topic related to remote sensing, either individually or in small groups. Your project might be an in depth review, a case study, or actual analysis of data. Results of your investigation should emphasize the role of remote sensing and not the phenomenon (e.g., if you choose to study tornados, your presentation should focus on how remote sensing is used to observe them, not the anatomy or behavior of the storm). Your presentation will be put on the web and presented orally in class. The format of your presentation might include the following sections: abstract, introduction, remote sensing theory and application, results, discussion/conclusions, suggestions for future study, and references.
Abstract -- 1 or 2-paragraph summary of your project. Include brief description of sensors, algorithms, and results.
Introduction -- Why is your topic important? Explain concepts that are key to understanding your project (e.g., what is Lifted Index? What are western boundary currents? What is graupel?) Make sure to add links to other related or more in-depth studies.
Remote sensing theory/application -- Description of sensor(s) you used in your study and give links to further information. Describe algorithms used to retrieve geophysical information from remote sensing data and give links to sources of further info. Cite sources of information, data, algorithms, etc. What did you do with the information -- did you do further processing? Statistical analysis? Subsetting/plotting?
Results -- Demonstrate how your data and/or analysis elucidate your topic of interest. Which specific phenomena are shown by your data/analysis?
Discussion/conclusions -- Explain and interpret your results. What did you learn?
Future work -- If you were to continue this study, what would your future efforts entail?
References -- Literature cited in your study.
In-class presentation -- Teams of 3 will have 20 minutes, 2-person teams will have 15 minutes, and individuals will have 10 minutes to present your projects. You should rehearse your presentation to be sure to stay within time limits. Allow 2 minutes at the end of your time period for questions from the audience.
Grading -- Both the web-based projects and the presentations will be evaluated by the professor(s) and by your peers. The final grade will be a combination of all evaluations.
Copies of the syllabus and homework assignments will be available online at
http://marine.rutgers.edu/courses/rs/
Supplemental reading assignments and other course materials will be identified by its URL, handed out in class, and/or available on electronic reserve at the Chang Library in Foran Hall. Please check regularly as this material will be updated.
The Earth is a complex system of interacting natural and human components that continues to be stressed by a rapidly growing world population. To sustain the Earth's ecosystem, it is essential to improve our understanding of the climate system, interrelationships among variables, and how and why the climate is changing. Because instruments often cannot be located where measurements are needed, we rely increasingly on information derived from sensors that observe energy remotely. The science of inferring geophysical quantities from this measured energy is called Remote Sensing. This information can help answer questions about the Earth's systems through repeated observations of the atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces over spatial scales ranging from regional to global and temporal scales ranging from minutes to decades.
Satellite remote sensing of the ocean and atmosphere is a rapidly evolving field. A wide range of operational sensors is already in orbit, and new platforms with enhanced sensor capabilities continue to be planned, constructed, and launched. The ever-increasing flow data to the scientific community will require students to be familiar with the availability, capabilities, and limitations of data from each sensor, as well as the methodologies for interpreting physical phenomena from those data. Moreover, students should discover that one sensor is often not sufficient to study many natural phenomena. Of increasing importance is the ability to combine information from various remote sensing, in situ, and historical sources.
This course introduces students to the variety of past, present, and future satellite sensors designed for atmospheric and oceanographic applications. The initial focus is on fundamentals: the electromagnetic spectrum, satellite orbital dynamics, satellite measurement geometry, and radiometers. The focus then shifts to atmospheric and oceanographic applications of the remote sensing data presently available to the scientific community. We will discuss methods to retrieve a wide variety of geophysical variables, such as atmospheric soundings of temperature and gases, such as water vapor and ozone, cloud properties, wind velocities, weather features, sea surface temperature and height, surface currents, and sea ice characteristics. We will discuss active and passive sensors that observe radiation in a wide range of wavelengths and that are surface-based or flying on a variety of platforms.
Barrett, E. and L. Curtis, Introduction to Remote Sensing
Colwell, R., Manual of Remote Sensing
Elachi, C., Introduction to Physics and Techniques of Remote Sensing
Gurney, R., J. Foster, C. Parkinson, Atlas of Satellite Observations related to Global Change
Henderson-Sellers, A., Satellite Sensing of a Cloudy Atmosphere
Houghton, J.T. et al, Remote Sounding of Atmospheres
Lo, C.P., Applied Remote Sensing
Richardson, B., Introduction to Remote Sensing of the Environment
Robinson, I.S., Satellite Oceanography: An Introduction for Oceanographers and Remote Sensing Scientists