The Earth is changing, and these changes can clearly be seen from space. Here, we will introduce some of the different satellite-based Earth observation (EO) datasets available, emphasizing real-life use examples. After the introduction, the students (in groups) will work more in-depth with a specific dataset to observe the phenomena they find most interesting (e.g., deforestation, floods, drought, ice thickness). Here, we need to identify relevant satellite missions and spatio-temporal data requirements before diving into the method development, implementation and analysis. Examples of such projects could be, e.g., the use of NASA's ICESat-2 green-laser mission to determine Amazon deforestation, monitor drought across continents with the EU Sentinel missions, or use Sentinel-2 to see the biological activity in the world's oceans. These are just some examples of the data we aim to have the students be able to grasp and analyze. Through this course, we aim for the students to be able to navigate the growing stream of EO data freely available from different agencies and make use of them for society.
