Faculty Advisor: Research Associate Professor, Boston University

Research Practicum Introduction

How are we changing the physical environment of Earth’s Surface? How can we measure and monitor these changes? What is triggering or accelerating these changes? For decades, satellite instruments have reliably monitored land and water resources as well as ecosystems’ health and conditions that have helped scientists better understand the causes for their degradation or recovery. 

A large portion of the world’s population is now living in cities that are prone to extreme weather events and natural hazards. Flash floods, for example, are  major risks for cities due to increasing impervious surface area, inadequate storm water drainage, and aging infrastructure. Other regions of the world are prone to acute water shortage because of fast growing urban areas coupled with mismanagement of water and soil resources and changing precipitation rates and surface temperatures. Climate change is also contributing to more frequent and severe wildfires in many regions, causing devastation to the natural and built environment.

This program introduces students to a set of web-based tools to explore and monitor changes occurring on the Earth’s surface. It further introduces principles and theories of earth sciences related to environmental change. Through hands-on exercises and weekly discussion of readings, students will explore a variety of Earth observation satellite data and applications.

Students will also learn general and subject-specific research and academic writing methods used in universities and scholarly publications. Students will focus on individual topics and generate their own work products upon completion of the program.

Possible Topics For Final Project:

• Water resource management crisis in mega cities. How can a combination of drought and water resource mismanagement lead to water shortages in large urban areas such as Cape Town in South Africa?

• Investigating cause and effects of flash floods in coastal urban environments. Learn how satellite data enables us to map, monitor, and develop better plans for handling floods.

• Mapping habitats and assessing potential threats to biodiversity. Learn about how geospatial technology can be used to map and monitor species distribution and habitats.

• Exploring air quality using satellite data. Identify different types of aerosols and learn how they can be measured from space. Examine the problem of air pollution in North America and/or East Asia.

• Coral reef bleaching: a human driven phenomenon? How can satellite instruments monitor coastal marine ecosystems and conditions? 

• Urban heat island effect. What causes increased heat emission in metropolitan areas compared to surrounding rural areas and what are the environmental impacts?

• Or other topics in this subject area that you are interested in, and that your professor approves after discussing it with you.

Program Detail

• Cohort Size: 3-5 students

• Workload: Around 4-5 hours per week (including class time and homework time)

• Target Students: 9-12th grade students interested in Geography, Environment Sciences, Climate Change, and/or Energy Reservation.

• Schedule: TBD. Meetings will take place for around one hour per week, with a weekly meeting day and time to be determined one week prior to the class start date.