CoastWatch Satellite Course - January 2023

CoastWatch Satellite Course

Welcome to the NOAA CoastWatch Links to an external site. January 2023 Satellite Course! You are joining over 50 active students in this online training. We are excited to have you in the class and look forward to helping you learn about satellite data and how to obtain and work with it! 

 

Learning Outcomes

  1. You will get familiar with the basic principles of remote sensing and the main ocean parameters
  2. You will practice using the ERDDAP platform to visualize, subset and download data
  3. You will learn where to find data
  4. You will learn how to judge whether a specific product is appropriate for your application, and when in doubt, you will know who to contact to get guidance
  5. You will apply what you learn on a personal project and leave the class with ready-to-use workflows

 

Project

As part of the course, you are expected to come with a specific project to work on during the class. Participants get more out of the workshop if they have specific questions or projects to work on. You will give a very brief intro to your project on the first day and will give a short (1 slide, 2 mins max) lightning talk during the last class session.
 
This can be as simple as making a map or a time series for your region of interest if you are not currently working with satellite data. Make sure you will have any ancillary data you may need ready by January 18th.
For example, if your project is to merge tagged animal tracks with satellite data, you should have the track data ready.
 
If you do not have a project to work on, please contact Melanie for help.



Time Commitment

Expect to spend about 1-2h/week in live sessions and at least 3-4h/week on your own to go over self-paced materials or work on your project. Instructors will be available during the week to answer questions or help troubleshoot, on demand. The last day will be a 2-3h presentation day.

 

Schedule

Live sessions will be held on Wednesdays at 3-5pm EST, from January 18th to February 15th, 2023.

Week 1 - Jan. 17-20, 2023

Week 2 - Jan. 23-27, 2023

Week 3 - Jan. 30 - Feb. 3, 2023

Week 4 - Feb. 6-10, 2023

Week 5: Feb. 13-15, 2023

Course Structure

Wednesday Sessions | 3pm EST 

The Day 1 live session will include an introduction to the course and the instructors. This will be an opportunity for you to introduce yourself and briefly describe your class project.  Attendance to this session on Day 1 is required. On Weeks 2 through 4, during the live session the instructors will review the previous week’s homework, preview the course activities for the self-study periods, and answer any common questions that have come up. Guest lectures and tools demos may also be included.

Self Study  |  Self-paced

Each week you will work at your own schedule and pace to complete the course content and work on your individual project. The first few days feature video tutorials on satellite data, example software tutorials and homework exercises. As the class progresses, you will use the self study period to work on your individual project. 

Office Hours  |  Mondays and Fridays, at 10am EST and 5pm EST  | Optional

During office hours the instructors will be in the online course meeting and will be available for answering any questions about the lessons, data availability, troubleshooting code issues etc.  Attendance is optional, but this will be the most optimal way to get one-on-one assistance. We recommend you tune in for the first half hour as these office hours often generate interesting group discussions. Feel free to log off whenever based on your interest and needs.

Student Presentations |  Wednesday Feb. 15th, 3-5pm EST  | Required

On the last day, you will give a brief (2 minute maximum) presentation on your project (1 slide only). 

 

How to get help ?

How to get help during or after the class?

 

Pre-Course Setup

To get the most out of the course, ensure you are set up ahead of time and ready to go on Jan. 18th. Install the software well in advance of the course to leave time for addressing installation issues. NOAA employees, contractors, and affiliates using government-issued computers will likely require the approval and assistance of IT administrators to install software.

Contact Melanie (Melanie.Abecassis at noaa.gov) if you have questions about software.

 

1. Gather Files for Your Project

You are encouraged to come to the course with a project to work on and any information needed for the project. For example, if a project is to match up tagged animal tracks with satellite data, then track data (a list of dates, latitudes, and longitudes) would be required.

 

2. Setup Your Computer and Software

Panoply

You will use panoply for the assignment with NetCDF data. Please install Panoply, a NetCDF viewer developed by NASA. Panoply can be run on Windows, Mac and Linux computers.  

https://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/panoply/ Links to an external site.

 

Setup the software you will use for your project

To cater to the needs of diverse students, we offer tutorials in R, Python and ArcGIS. The R materials are the most developed and will be the dominant software used in course demonstrations. We encourage you to choose software you are familiar with and basic knowledge of the software chosen is expected. 

R and R Studio

R Script for required modules Links to an external site. 

Python

The examples presented in the course are written in Python 3 and provided as Jupyter Notebooks. Anaconda Links to an external site. installations have made it easier to install the required modules.  We recommend Miniconda Links to an external site., a lightweight version of Anaconda that takes up less disk space and resolves common environment configuration issues present in the full anaconda distribution. 

For details and instructions on setting up and testing your environment view the python code readme on github: 

Setup and Test Your Python Environment Links to an external site.

ESRI ArcGIS

  • Course materials are designed for ArcGIS Pro v3.0.3
  • Users must have their own licensed version of ArcGIS and the Spatial Analyst Extension.

 

3. Log into Slack

Slack will be used to introduce yourself to your fellow class mates, ask/answer questions, share your progress on your project.

1. Click on this invite link.to get access to the CoastWatch Slack workspace.

2. We will use several channels. Click the "Join Channel" button at the bottom center of the page the first time you access it.

 

All users should understand this is a public forum and anything submitted is open to public access.

For NOAA employees and affiliates:

Visit slack.com Links to an external site. and establish an account.  
1) Users should create an account using their NOAA email as the username and create a unique password. 
(select the "continue with email" option)
2) Use the Slack web interface.  Do not install the Slack App/program on your Government computer.
3) Don't share screen while using Slack (close/hide the tab)

 

Instructors

Meet your instructors

 

Course Materials

Available here:

https://umd.instructure.com/courses/1343660/modules

 

 

 

 

Public Domain This course content is offered under a Public Domain Links to an external site. license. Content in this course can be considered under this license unless otherwise noted.