ESA’s first MOOC, Monitoring Climate from Space, is open now for learners to sign up for, with teaching set to begin on 8th June 2015. Over five weeks, a selection of the world’s foremost scientists will guide learners through the role of satellite data in supporting decisions relating to climate change and sustainable development. Designed for current and future policy makers, educators and anyone communicating about climate change, the course will aim to give learners a robust understanding of the datasets that should inform their work. As awareness continues to grow of the threat that climate change presents to our planet, the course will also appeal to a wider public interested in examining environmental elements – such as ice thickness, aerosol, sea level and soil moisture – in greater detail.
This course is designed for people who want to learn more about Earth observation, climate change and monitoring climate from space. The course can also help decision makers, policy makers, educators and communicators, to gain a better insight into how satellite data can help them assess the state of our climate and its changes, in order to support climate science, and adaptation and mitigation decisions.
In this free online course, you will join leading experts and scientists from ESA and key European research centres, to explore the science that underpins Earth observation.
We will look at recent and current satellite missions that are providing an archive of essential data; and find out how this data is used in local and international policy and planning.
5 weeks, 3 hr per week – Beginning 8 June 2015
The course consists of five themed weeks:
Week 1 – Observing Climate Change from Space
What is Earth observation? How do we observe the Earth with satellites? And what role does Earth observation play in climate policy and planning?
Weeks 2 & 3 – Earth Observation Techniques and Technology
How do we use different types of mission, instrumentation and data to study changes to our atmosphere, land, oceans and ice?
Week 4 – Earth Observation in Action
How does Earth observation help us set policy; plan for climate risk, resilience and adaptation; and manage resources and biodiversity?
Week 5 – Managing Earth Observation Data
How do we make sense of the large amount of data produced by Earth observation? Can crowdsourcing and citizen science play a role in developing climate change models?
Via Space Generation Advisory Council – Source: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/climate-from-space