Remote sensing and social-ecological analysis of land surface dynamics in Bern

This practical course offers students the opportunity to learn about remote sensing methods for monitoring land surface dynamics processes, including deforestation and drought, using Google Earth Engine (GEE). The course is divided into three parts: In Part 1, three introductory lectures will cover 1) the background to the course and reading material, 2) remote sensing methods for vegetated terrestrial land surfaces, and 3) links between ecosystem services and remote sensing analyses. In Part 2, students will work through practical tutorials designed to impart basic programming skills using the GEE cloud computing platform. In Part 3, students will choose an example script analyzing either deforestation or drought; they will have the opportunity to develop their own variation of the analysis in a short group (2 to 3 people) research project. Finally, they will present their results as a conference poster, and give a brief presentation to the class.