ESI faculty often participate in outreach events with local public schools or youth visits to campus. The following are free materials developed by ESI faculty for educators and students in physics, mathematics, engineering, and electronics. They may require purchase of materials from a hardware store or access to computers.
Summary: Satellite images of the Earth from space are some of our best tools to study our weather, oceans, pollution, and changes to our cities, rainforests, and polar caps over time. In this class, you will learn why scientists measure the entire Earth from space daily. We’ll also talk about the different kinds of signals we measure from space – specifically, how to identify liquid water from ice clouds, algae blooms from sediment in the ocean, desert dust from wildfire smoke – and all from satellite imagery. You’ll also get hands-on experience with satellite data from an exciting new NASA climate mission called PACE (which stands for Plankton, Aerosols, Clouds, ocean Ecosystem). PACE has a special camera on the spacecraft called HARP2, which was built right here at UMBC! This class will culminate in a laboratory tour of the Earth and Space Institute, research labs in the UMBC Physics building where we build and calibrate new satellite instruments, like HARP2 – and a discussion on how to join this rapidly-growing field.
Materials: Google Drive
Unit Length: up to 15 hours
Pre-Requisites: Students should have a general understanding of computers. Access to a smartphone is desired, but optional. Mathematics knowledge up to Algebra I is recommended.
Notes: The code and course was developed with Unix/Linux systems in mind, which include Apple Macs. If interested in a Windows adaptation, please contact mcbride1[@]umbc.edu.
Developed by Dr. Brent McBride/ESI for the Earth Science with Satellite Imagery course as part of the 2025 UMBC Summer Enrichment Academy (SEA).
