Course Introduction
Welcome to Earth Observation (EO) from Space: The Cryosphere!
This course is available for free with continuous access.
This course will introduce the powerful uses of satellite Earth observation (EO) technology and how scientists use them to monitor the cryosphere.
The collective term cryosphere refers to the Earth’s surface where water exists as snow, ice, glaciers, ice shelves, ice sheets and frozen ground. The cryosphere covers a huge part of the Earth's surface.
In this course, you will learn about how the cryosphere influences our climate. The course primarily focuses on Earth Observation from space and therefore relates mainly to satellite remote sensing. However, the topics covered will also include forms of monitoring conducted from aircraft or ground based sensors.
The course looks at different types of measurements made possible from satellite remote sensing. The topics cover various satellite technologies and techniques, the data they generate and practical applications of the data collected. You will learn the challenges of monitoring the cryosphere and the challenges we face with a fast-changing climate.
This MOOC includes videos, animations, datasets, presentations and audio lectures from leading experts at ESA, CPOM, BAS, UCL, UL, FMI, SKYE, SLF and DTU. It also offers rare footage from unique research missions such as MOSAiC.
To support your learning, you will have unlimited access to multimedia resources. Transcripts will accompany these videos and you can download these PDF files by clicking on the transcript links on the sidebar. Each topic has a selection of further readings to broaden your learning, and optional additional resources for advanced learners. Each week has an interactive exercise, designed to promote your understanding of satellite data.
In this course, the terms ‘Earth Observation’ and ‘remote sensing’ are used interchangeably.
‘Data’ in the context of satellite EO refers to optical imagery and photography, as well as to so-called ‘geospatial’ and numerical data derived from other forms of sensors.
A full glossary of terms is provided at the end of Week 1 and this can be referred back to at any time during the course.
This course also provides access to interactive EO datasets visible through the satellite tracking apps and a missions table, which can be found at the end of Week 1. These apps allow you to view satellites and their recorded data as they move.
In Topic 1a, we provide more information about the learning objectives of EO from Space: The Cryosphere.
You can also add a comment in the discussion forum at the bottom of the page to introduce yourself to other learners, and tell us what you are looking forward to learning from this course.
We hope you enjoy the course!
Who you will be learning with:
Professor Andrew Shepherd – Professor of Earth Observation, University of Leeds
Professor Julienne Stroeve – Professor of Polar Observation and Modelling, University College London
Dr Michel Tsamados – Lecturer in Polar Observation and Modelling / Rheology, University College London
Professor David Vaughan – Director of Science, British Antarctic Survey
Dr Rosemary Willatt – Research Fellow, University College London
Dr Anna Maria Trofaier - Cryosphere Scientist, European Space Agency
Robbie Mallet - PhD Student, MOSAIC School, University College London
Dr Louise Sandberg Sørensen – Senior Researcher, Technical University of Denmark
Dr Lars Kaleschke – Researcher, Alfred Wegener Institute
Dr Kirsikka Heinilä – Senior Research Scientist, Finnish Environment Institute
Dr Yves Bühler – Senior Researcher, WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research
Dr Vishnu Nandan – Remote Sensing Scientist, University of Manitoba
Dr Thomas Rackow – Postdoctoral Scientist, Alfred Wegener Institute
Professor Tim Stanton – Professor Emeritus at the Naval Postgraduate School
Neil Aellen – MOSAiC School 2019 Participant
Sam Cornish – MOSAiC School 2019 Participant
Carolynn Harris – MOSAiC School 2019 Participant
Chelsea Harvey – Climate Reporter
Marylou Athanase – MOSAiC School 2019 Participant
Anika Happe – MOSAiC School 2019 Participant
Lisa Craw – MMOSAiC School 2019 Participant
Alex Mavrovic – MOSAiC School 2019 Participant
Dr Sebastian Bjerregaard Simonsen – Senior Researcher, Technical University of Denmark
Andreas Stoffel – GIS System Specialist, WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research
To read more about them visit the Cryosphere Presenters page
Acknowledgements
This course has been designed and produced for ESA by Imperative Space, a multi-faceted education and media company which has produced a range of online courses and training materials for clients in several global sectors, including space, environment, science, technology, NGOs and government.
The producers would like to thank all of the academics, experts and institutions who have contributed to and supported production of the course. This includes the universities and research centres to which our onscreen experts are affiliated.
The overseeing editors of this course are Anna Maria Trofaier for ESA and Ravi Kapur for Imperative Space.
All NASA and ESA imagery and animations used throughout this course are used courtesy of NASA and ESA.
To download any of the course videos or video transcripts, you can use the Download links on the right side bar for each topic.
Other MOOCs on Earth Observation data produced by Imperative Space have included courses focusing on EO applications in climate and optical EO focusing on ocean monitoring, land cover, and humanitarian response.
This MOOC is free, open access and can be taken at your own pace. You can refer back to any of the topics and rewatch the videos as much as you wish.
Course topics
The core videos of this course are labelled as topic videos.
We have also provided a range of optional further reading, links, and additional resources to help consolidate your learning. Here is a summary of what is available:
Topic links and resources
In each topic, once you have watched the video and read the accompanying text, you will find the following information:
- Optional Further Reading: These are external links to further reading.
- Featured Images and Animations: Below the text on each video page, you’ll find the featured images and featured animations.
- Interactives: On the 'Interactives' tab on relevent topic pages, you will find a satellite tracking application showing the current location of the satellites, a data viewer from the ESA WEkEO platform, as well as a data viewer, specially created for this course, allowing you to explore a selection of data relevant to the themes and topics in this course. (Please note that due to maintenance, the data viewer is currently unavailable).
Quizzes and comments
- Quizzes: At the end of each week there will be a quizz consisting of around five questions. These will help you consolidate your understanding of new topics, but are not scored. The feedback given with each answer also will also provide you with important information.
Weekly interactive exercises
At the end of each week, we have included a guided exercise, using interactive apps available on other websites, to help you become more familiar with looking at and working with EO datasets. You will be guided through the process of searching for, comparing and drawing conclusions from data relevant to some of the topics covered in that week.
