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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRPjKQtRXR8

ISS livestream

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[Optional: slide introducing presenters]

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Introduction to Earth Observation

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What is a satellite?

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What is a satellite?

Definition: something in orbit around the Earth (or another planet!)
Fun Fact! The Earth itself is a natural satellite, orbiting the Sun
Thousands of man made satellite orbit the earth
Give a bird's eye view of the Earth

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What is Earth Observation?

'Earthrise' - Apollo 8 Mission, 1968

When we say earth observation, what do we mean? Well it is the ways we collect information about the physical, chemical and biological systems of Earth from the vantage point of space.

We send specially designed instruments up into space to orbit the Earth on satellites, taking measurements as they go. These include giant cameras, radars, and even lasers!

Earth observation provides information for research in fields including meteorology, oceanography, ecology, glaciology, atmospheric science and many more!

This picture shows the very first ‘Earth Observation’ – an iconic image, taken in 1968 by the Apollo 8 mission, showing ‘Earthrise’ from the Moon. From this moment onwards, humankind has become more and more obsessed with observing the Earth from space and so we have sent more and more satellites and instruments up into orbit to do just that – meaning we now have a approx. 50years of measurements from space over which we can observe annual, seasonal and daily changes. But obviously no info on longer timescales than this.

Image credits

Earthrise – creative commons license - https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasappere/46531570361

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What is Earth Observation?

Earth Observation involves collecting information about the Earth from space.

Earth Observation satellites carry giant cameras, radars, and even lasers!

Applications of Earth Observation:

weather forecasting
disaster response
tracking wildlife
measuring land-use change
research.

'Earthrise' - Apollo 8 Mission, 1968

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Where on Earth..?

1.

Eiffel Tower,

A quick quiz

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Where on Earth..?

1.

Eiffel Tower,

Eiffel Tower, Paris

Image from very high-resolution WorldView-2 Satellite

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2.

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2.

Antarctica

This is actually a mosaic image made up of lots of smaller satellite images, because Antarctica is so big!

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3.

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3.

Mount Everest

Image from very high-resolution GeoEye-1 Satellite

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4.

Bonus: Can you identify some man-made and natural features?

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4.

London, UK

Image from the Sentinel-2 satellite (10m resolution)

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5.

What do you think the bright orange feature is?

Can you identify any other interesting features?

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5.

La Palma, Canary Islands

During an eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano!

This is an infrared image, meaning it can detect the lava flow due to its heat causing it to appear very bright.

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6.

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6.

Sahara Desert, Algeria

Optical image from Japan's ALOS satellite. The pattern of the sand is caused by wind forming sand dunes. The dark black / purple area is a large expanse of rock!

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7.

What is the main feature you can see in this image?

Where do you think this could be?

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7.

Hurricane Katrina, Gulf of Mexico

This is a satellite image of hurricane Katrina in 2005 in the Gulf of Mexico, starting to move across the southern states of the USA.

Sometimes cloud and weather can block satellite images, but in some cases, like this one, you want to track the cloud and weather in order to warn those that may be affected.

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8.

This is a tougher one... but think about the main features you can identify in the image. Are they man-made or natural?

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This is a radar image, meaning it uses microwaves to capture information rather than measuring visible light.

8.

Edinburgh, Scotland

new

glass

buildings

Arthur's

Seat

St Margaret's

Loch

Edinburgh

Castle

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What can scientists monitor with EO data?

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Wildlife

©Maxar Technologies

Whales along the Mexican coast

Elephants in South Africa

Penguins in Antarctica

What can scientists monitor with EO data?

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Intro to EO

Weather Patterns

Meteosat in geostationary orbit over Europe/Africa

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Intro to EO

Changes in Vegetation

Wildfires (Kythira, Greece)

Deforestation (Amazon Rainforest)

Two examples of how we can observe changes in vegetation.

1- Timelapse shows progressive deforestation in the Amazon rainforest

2- Series of images shows the greek island of Kythira in 2017 at the end of a very hot summer in Southern Europe. The images are taken with the Sentinel-2 satellite that takes pictures of the Earth with both visible and infrared light. This shows a false colour image using the infrared wavelengths, which makes vegetation appear red. On 4 August you can see the start of a fire on the island, with a plume of grey smoke. Then 5 days later you can see a huge burn scar visible across the western part of the island. This destroyed more than 2000 hectares of farmland.

Image Credits

Deforestation - NASA Earth Observatory (processed by L. Dauphin, using Landsat data from USGS)

Wildfires – creative commons ESA - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kythira_wildfires_ESA382811.gif

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Intro to EO

Arctic Sea Ice Cover

We have a continuous daily satellite record of Arctic sea ice extent since 1979.

40-year record shows huge reduction in summer sea ice cover as a result of human-induced ocean and atmospheric warming.

Credit: ESA - CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

Satellites have given us a continuous daily record of Arctic sea ice extent since 1979! Each year, sea ice cover goes through a cycle in the Arctic – growing over the winter months as there is very little sunlight and temperatures are very low – and then shrinking in the summer months as warmer temperatures causes the ice to melt.

Using this over 40 year satellite record, we can see how the warming air and ocean temperatures in the Arctic as a result of human-induced climate change have caused a huge reduction in sea ice cover – particularly in the summer months.

The image on the left shows sea ice each day of the year in 1979, and on the right each day in 2016. Notice how much less ice there is in august and September 2016 compared to the same month in 1979. 40 years ago you couldn’t have dreamt about sailing in a ship across the Arctic ocean, but nowadays the sea ice is melting much further north, opening up passages across the ocean for ships to travel.

Image credits

Credit: ESA - CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

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Intro to EO

Air Pollution

The Sentinel-5P satellite measures levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the atmosphere, which is produced by the burning of fossil fuels.

Here we can see a sharp drop in pollution levels across China in early 2020 in response to the Covid-19 lockdown.

Credit: Copernicus Sentinel data (2019-20), processed by ESA

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The Cryosphere from Space

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What is the Cryosphere?

Upsala Glacier, Argentina, by David Longhorn

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What is the Cryosphere?

All regions on Earth where water exists as ice

Cairngorms, Scotland, by Leam Howe

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Cryosphere from Space

Image Credit: SWIPA 2011

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Use Google Earth to explore the Earth's cryosphere (hint: They show up as white)

Why do you think it is hard to study this these regions? We have gone over a few already, but can you be more area specific? I.e what challenges do you have observing Antarctica vs mountain glaciers?

Activity 1: Locate the cryosphere

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Image Credit: SWIPA 2011

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwbIormRgGU

Video: The world’s melting ice

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Why is the Cryosphere Important?

Antarctica by GRID-Arendal

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Cryosphere from Space

Freshwater Resource

2.5% of the Earth's water can be classed as freshwater

68.7.% of this amount is stored in glaciers and icecaps

Many populations rely on the annual/seasonal melt cycles of these ice forms

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Cryosphere from Space

Climate: Global Heat Sink

Image Credit: Praetoris 2018

The cryosphere helps regulate the Earth's climate. The white of the snow and ice reflects more of the sun's energy than other regions. Included in the cryosphere are areas that hold water in the form of sea ice all year round. These colder areas of ocean play an important role in cooling down warm water brought up from the equator. This cool water then sinks and makes its way back down to the equator to be re-heated and so on.

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Wildlife

The Cryosphere is full of animals that are specifically adapted to harsh conditions experienced through out the year.

Can you guess what these adaptations are?

Species like polar bears and walruses even spend most of their life living on the ice that forms as a crust of the polar seas.

Some areas such as the tundras explode in summer with wildflower meadows, bringing colour to the regions.

Cryosphere from Space

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Cryosphere from Space

The cryosphere covers an estimated 13% of the Earth's surface. It acts as a store for freshwater and as a stabilising factor for the Earth's climate. It also provides a unique habitat that is home to a diverse range of wildlife.

Image Credit: NASA Solar System Exploration

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How is the Cryosphere Changing?

Cryosphere from Space

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Antarctica

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Antarctica

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Optional video: Antarctica’s bedrock

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usDzh7l5HZw&t=112s

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Use Google Earth to estimate the area of the Antarctic Ice Sheet

Calculate the equivalent sea level rise

Would your house be underwater if Antarctica melted?

Cryosphere from Space

Activity 2: Antarctic sea level rise

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Cryosphere from Space

Activity: Antarctic sea level rise

Answer: ~70 m

Actual value accounting for displacement of water: ~58 m

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Wildlife from Space

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The natural world is so vast and most of its inhabitants are highly mobile and roam large distances, meaning it is very challenging to study wildlife.

Scientists are using satellites to spy on whales, walrus, seals, penguins, elephants and even albatross!

Wildlife from Space

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Wildlife from Space Quiz!

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Wildlife from Space Quiz!

Arctic

OR

Antarctic?

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Earth Observation and Climate Change

ACTIVITY 3: CUVERVILLE ISLAND PENGUINS

Credit: ESA - CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

The climate crisis is the most urgent challenge faced by humankind – affecting every region, continent, and ocean on Earth. Space has an untapped potential to make a difference in tackling the threats and challenges we face.

Satellites watch over Earth continuously, helping us to monitor, understand, model, predict and act on climate change and its related challenges. They give us a reliable 40+ year record of change and are especially useful for monitoring remote and inaccessible areas like the polar regions, where changes to the climate are the most extreme!

Play 2 min video from ESA

European Space Agency’s Climate Change Initiative – established to use EO satellite data to track changes in the climate and provide robust and transparent access to global climate data for scientists and the general public. It focuses on measuring 22 ‘essential climate variables’, including greenhouse gases, clouds, glaciers, land cover, sea level and sea surface temperature. ESA CCI – would really encourage all of you to go onto this web app and explore for yourself some of the amazing satellite imagery that can tell us how our planet has been changing over the past 40 years.

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Earth Observation and Climate Change

ACTIVITY 3: CUVERVILLE ISLAND PENGUINS

Credit: ESA - CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

Penguin site

Cuverville Island is home to a large colony of Gentoo penguins.

It's estimated there may be as many as 7,000 breeding pairs of Gentoos on the island, making it one of the largest penguin rookeries on the Antarctic Peninsula.

The climate crisis is the most urgent challenge faced by humankind – affecting every region, continent, and ocean on Earth. Space has an untapped potential to make a difference in tackling the threats and challenges we face.

Satellites watch over Earth continuously, helping us to monitor, understand, model, predict and act on climate change and its related challenges. They give us a reliable 40+ year record of change and are especially useful for monitoring remote and inaccessible areas like the polar regions, where changes to the climate are the most extreme!

Play 2 min video from ESA

European Space Agency’s Climate Change Initiative – established to use EO satellite data to track changes in the climate and provide robust and transparent access to global climate data for scientists and the general public. It focuses on measuring 22 ‘essential climate variables’, including greenhouse gases, clouds, glaciers, land cover, sea level and sea surface temperature. ESA CCI – would really encourage all of you to go onto this web app and explore for yourself some of the amazing satellite imagery that can tell us how our planet has been changing over the past 40 years.

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Intro to EO

What have we learnt today?

For my specific research, I use one of NASA’s latest satellites – called ICESat-2.

And I use data from this really cool NASA satellite, called ICESat-2, that was specifically designed to monitor elevation changes of the ice surface in the polar regions. It works by sending down small pulses of laser light 10,000 times a second, each containing billions of photons, and by measuring precisely how long it takes for the individual photons to travel from the spacecraft, down to the Earth and back again, allows us to work out the height of the surface beneath ICESat-2. The fundamental concept of this is relatively simple (going back to our physics triangles), if we know the speed of light (constant for all EM waves), and the time taken for the light to travel to the surface of the Earth and bounce back to reach the satellite, then we can calculate the distance of the surface away from the satellite (and hence it’s elevation). These measurements are sensitive to millimetres of elevation change, which is pretty mind-boggling considering the satellite is flying around 481km above the Earth’s surface.

By repeatedly taking measurements of surface elevation of the ice sheet and ice shelves, we can identify areas where the mass balance of the ice sheet is changing  thinning indicates we are losing mass, and where does that ice mass go? Well, it flows right into the oceans and contributes to sea level rise around the globe.