Course Project Definition

An individual project is required for all students in the course “Observing the Earth from Space”.  The project is an opportunity for you to apply the techniques of satellite remote sensing to a problem of interest to you. Some students may already be involved in a current research project and will frame a course project around this. Alternatively you may design a project which extends one of the case studies in the course. You are not limited to subjects which are discussed in the course.

In all cases however, the project should match the general emphasis of the course; satellite remote sensing using the methods, software and hardware of the YCEO. You may of course, import other types of data to supplement the satellite data. Be realistic however about the availability and format of other data sources. Try to pose a specific question which can be answered by satellite remote sensing.

The most challenging aspect of the course project is the selection of a subject for which satellite remote sensing is an appropriate tool. Most good projects will have quantitative conclusions or qualitative understanding as a result, not just the processed imagery itself. Alternatively, you may choose to focus on a particular new method of image analysis.

The success of your project will depend in part on how well you use the existing literature in the field. Consult the Yale University Library website or your local librarian for a list of remote sensing and research domain-specific journals. Most of these are available on campus.

Project Prospectus: Each student must hand in a one paragraph prospectus, describing the proposed project, on Friday, March 6. This prospectus should include the goal of the project, the data to be used, and a list of ten or more references from remote sensing and related literature. Indicate with a check-mark which of these papers you have read.
Please see the Prospectus Assignment for more specific details on this.

Your final project report:  Review the Project Report Guidelines for format requirements and suggestions. The report must include a standard cover page and abstract, introduction describing the question you have posed, data description, methods, results, conclusions, suggestions for future work, images, and reference list.  Reports from previous years are available on the YCEO server for your reference. A digital version of the report must be uploaded to Canvas by Saturday, May 2 at midnight.

Your final project oral presentation:  In addition to the report, you will be required to give a short oral presentation on your project. As the time for the report will be only 12 minutes plus 2 minutes for Q&A, your presentation should include only 10 to 15 slides (e.g. statement of the problem, data sources, methods, an image or two, conclusions).

The project presentations will be held on Thursday, Apr 30. The presentations start at 9:00 AM, continue through the afternoon. Please try to attend as many of the talks as possible; but you must attend at least 3 hours of presentations. The presentation and project report will be graded by the instructors. Note that there is no final exam in the course.