S1424 Introduction to Satellite Remote Sensing of Coastal Environments

Satellite remote sensing has become in the last few decades a key tool for environmental monitoring and research. Since 1972, when a NASA mission was specifically developed to monitor the state of the environment on the Earth, the number of satellites has greatly increased to cover a huge number of possible applications in different disciplines, from oceanography to forestry, glaciology, geology, hydrology, archeology. Remote sensing is particularly useful in coastal environments and specifically it is a key tool to monitor the rapid and extreme changes typical of lagoons, deltas and estuaries. Such changes are related to (i) physical processes, such as sediment dynamics induced by hydrodynamic patterns or extreme meteorological events, (ii) ecological dynamics, in connection with vegetation cover and the biological status of the sediments and (iii) anthropogenic pressure.

During the course students will learn what remote sensing data are and how they can be used to monitor coastal environments. The main eco-morphological processes driving coastal areas dynamics will be presented, as well as the consequences of sea level rise and of water pollution.Satellite data will be used to reconstruct changes in time and space. The Venice lagoon will be used as an example and a case study, to illustrate the consequences of natural and anthropogenic morphological evolution. Human pressure over several centuries will be discussed, and the MOSE system (the systems of gates currently being constructed at the lagoon inlets to protect the city of Venice from high tides) will be presented.

Students will acquire an operational knowledge of various satellite remote-sensing tools. In the computer lab, students will learn to use an advanced application for remote sensing data processing, with specific hands-on applications on (1) change detection in coastal zones, focusing in particular on salt marsh and barrier island erosion, (2) mapping salt marsh vegetation, seagrass, and macrophytes, (3) the assessment of the main water quality parameters (as for example water temperature, solid suspended sediment, chlorophyll concentration). At the end of the course students will develop a project which will allow them to apply the skills acquired during the course.

Course objectives and outcomes

-  To develop (1) an understanding of remote sensing principles; (2) basic skills in image processing and analysis of remote sensing data.

-  To acquire (1) a general knowledge of the research and commercial sensors currently available, with particular attention to coastal applications; (2) an operational knowledge of the several remote-sensing data types that will be used in the lab and in the project works.

The course includes a strong operational component to be developed in the computer lab. Students will acquire basic skills in image processing and data analysis with specific applications to coastal environments and lagoons. Moreover students will be asked to read research articles and prepare written analyses or lead a seminar/discussion on a a relevant topic.

Students will also participate in three field trips to restored salt marshes, barrier islands protection structures, and constructed wetland sites in the Venice Lagoon.

At the end of the course each student will develop a project, that will imply searching for, downloading, pre-processing, and analyzing available satellite imagery with application to one of the topics covered during the course. A final presentation and a written report will be part of the final evaluation of the student’s proficiency.