CIVL1180

Monitoring Changing Climate From Space

Prof. Hui Su
Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering

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04 September, 2023
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 Class Schedule
Monday Wednesday

04 Sep Lecture 01 06 Sep Lecture 02

11 Sep Lecture 03 13 Sep Lecture 04 (Lab)
18 Sep Lecture 05 20 Sep Lecture 06
25 Sep Lecture 07 27 Sep Lecture 08 (Lab)
1) Computer Barn
02 Oct The day after National Day 04 Oct Lecture 09
A: Room 4402
09 Oct Lecture 10 11 Oct Lecture 11 (Lab) (Lift 17-18)
16 Oct Lecture 12 18 Oct Lecture 13
23 Oct Chung Yeung Festival 25 Oct Lecture 14 (Lab) 2) Computer Barn
30 Oct Lecture 15 01 Nov Lecture 16 C: Room 4578
(Lift 27/28)
06 Nov Lecture 17 08 Nov Lecture 18 (Lab)
13 Nov Lecture 19 15 Nov Lecture 20
20 Nov Lecture 21 22 Nov Lecture 22 (Lab)
27 Nov Lecture 23 29 Nov Lecture 24
04 Dec Final study week 06 Dec Final study week
11 Dec Final Exam Week 13 Dec Final Exam Week
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18 Dec End of the Fall Term
 Course Outline

• History of remote sensing programs and climate science research

• Basic concepts of how remote sensing works and the underlying science
• Remote sensing methods and technologies Remote
Sensing Basics
• Satellite mission design
• Characteristics of satellite data and satellite data analysis methods
• Basics science of climate change
• Observations of climate change: atmosphere
Observing
• Observations of climate change: land Changing
• Observations of climate change: ocean Climate
• Observations of climate change: cryosphere
• Climate change mitigation and adaptation Climate
• Use of satellite data to constrain climate models Change
• Future perspectives Predictions
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 Course Objectives

This course aims to:

1. Introduce the basics of remote sensing and technologies for observing the
Earth from space
2. Present space-borne observational evidence of climate change and
attribution of the changes to human activities
3. Demonstrate scientific data visualization, analysis and inference methods
4. Engage students in big data analytics exercise
5. Train students to quantify knowledge in measurable terms
6. Educate students to use quantitative knowledge to formulate social policy
decisions

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 Course Intended Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to

1. Explain remote sensing principles, approaches, and methods

2. Describe satellite observations of climate change and associate the changes to

human activities

3. Discuss and evaluate the complexity of physical science, and recognize limitation
and future developments

4. Process, analyze, and interpret spatiotemporally varying data

5. Assess the soundness of climate-related policies using scientific knowledge

6. Write technical reports with creative thinking and quantitative evidence

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 Assessment Scheme
• 30% homework
• 30% mid-term
• 40% final project and written-report
The final project score includes equally weighted two parts:
1) A programming exercise of satellite data analysis
2) A 3-page written report (1600 words) that summarizes basic remote
sensing methods, data acquisition, analysis results and societal relevance
v A missed homework will receive a mark of zero.
v Make-up homework is allowed only under the most exceptional circumstances. (e.g., medical reason
with doctor’s note)
v A late penalty will be given based on the delayed date (10% reduction per day).
v Make-up for mid-term and final project must be approved by the instructor prior to the exam week.
v Homework and final report must be done individually.

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 Course Policy
• Questions are always welcome. Raise your hand if you do not understand.
Note that other students may have the same question as you.
• You may contact the instructor or TA for any questions and concerns.
Instructor’s office hour: Wednesday 3:00-6:00pm or by appointment,
RM 4607 (lift 29/30); Instructor's email: [email protected]
TAs: Ms. Yanjia WANG, [email protected]
Mr. Kuilin ZHU, [email protected]
• Course materials will be posted on Sunday and Tuesday (Please don’t
release course materials to the online public site).
• This course will be offered in regular face-to-face mode.
(No provision of RVC recording, except for the special circumstances)

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 A Reference Textbook
• Remote Sensing and Global Environmental Change,
by S. J. Purkis and V. V. Klemas

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 Open-Source Online Course
https://courses.imperativemoocs.com/monitoring-climate-from-space

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The 1st HKUST satellite
HKUST-FYBB#1

25 August, 2023, Jiuquan, Gansu

Credit: Jiuqun Satellite Launch Center
The 1st HKUST satellite
HKUST-FYBB#1

25 August, 2023, Jiuquan, Gansu

Credit: Jiuqun Satellite Launch Center
 香港科大雄彬一號
HKUST-FYBB#1
• HKUST’s first ever satellite with
advanced remote sensing capabilities
• Student participation across the entire
project journey
• Directly support critical needs of Hong
Kong and the Greater Bay Area.

Disaster Environmental Sustainable

Response Monitoring Smart City
 香港科大雄彬一號
HKUST-FYBB#1
整星质量 215kg
设计寿命 5年
⾼度 535km
轨道
类型 太阳同步轨道
成像⽅式 推扫
全⾊：450nm～700nm
蓝⾊：450nm～510nm
成像谱段 绿⾊：510nm～580nm
相机
红⾊：630nm～690nm
近红外：770nm～895nm
分辨率 0.5⽶
成像幅宽 ≥150km
 Future HKUST Satellite Constellation
Optical Satellite

CO2 Satellite

SAR Satellite

HKUST Redbirds Flying in Space!

 Student Participation

Mission Payload Pre-Launch

Formulation Development Test

Applications
In-orbit Data Product
Operation Analysis Development

Please Join me in the Journey to Space!

 Remote Sensing Overview
• What is “remote sensing”?
• Using artificial devices to observe or measure an object from a
distance without making physical contact with the object (opposite to
in situ observation)

Remote Sensing Platforms

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 Satellite Remote Sensing

• It allows us to observe & quantify Earth’s environment in regions of

the electromagnetic spectrum to which our naked eyes are not
sensitive.

• It enables us to observe & measure things on spatial, spectral, &

temporal scales that otherwise would not be possible. In situ
measurements have gaps spatially and temporally. Remote sensing
data fill the gaps of in situ data.

• It allows us to observe our environment using a consistent set of

measurements throughout the globe, without prejudice associated
with national boundaries and accuracy of datasets or timeliness of
reporting.

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 Ground-based vs Space-borne Platforms

Weather stations in China The 1st color image of FY-4A

(Gong et al. 2018) 20 Feb 2017
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 History of Remote Sensing
• Remote sensing began in the 1840s as balloonists took pictures of the
ground using the newly invented photo camera. Perhaps the most novel
platform at the end of the last century was the famed pigeon fleet that
operated in Europe during the World War I.

Image: pigeons wearing cameras.

Image Credit: NASA
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 The History of Satellite Remote Sensing
• Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an
elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of
the Soviet space program.
Sputnik 1

Launch mass 83.6 kg (184 lb)

Dimensions 58 cm (23 in) diameter

Power 1 watt

Perigee altitude 215 km (134 mi)

Apogee altitude 939 km (583 mi)

Period 96.20 minutes

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Sputnik 1 News Coverage

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 The First US Satellite Explorer 1
Explorer 1 was the first satellite launched by the United States on 31 January 1958 and was
part of the U.S. participation in the International Geophysical Year (IGY). The mission followed
the first two satellites the previous year; the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2, beginning
the Cold War Space Race between the two nations.

Launch mass 14 kg (30.66 lb)

Dimensions 203 cm long and 15.9
cm in diameter
Power 1 watt
Perigee 358 km (222 mi)
altitude
Apogee 2,550 km (1,580 mi)
altitude
Period 114.80 minutes

William Hayward Pickering, James Van Allen, and Wernher von Braun display a full-scale model of 23
Explorer 1 at a crowded news conference in Washington, D.C. after confirmation the satellite was in orbit.
Explorer 1

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 Dong Fang Hong 1 東方紅一號
Dong Fang Hong 1, also known as China 1 or PRC 1, was the first space satellite of
the People's Republic of China (PRC), launched on 24 April 1970. It was a part of the "Two
Bombs, One Satellite" program. At 173 kg (381 lb), it was heavier than the first satellites of
other countries. The satellite carried a radio transmitter which broadcast the de facto national
anthem of the same name. The broadcast lasted for 20 days while in orbit.

Recording of the music and data broadcast of the

first Chinese satellite, Dongfanghong-1.

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 The History of Remote Sensing

• TIROS (Television Infrared Observation Satellite) I, launched on 1 April 1960, was the
world's first weather satellite. Later, satellite sensors made soundings or measurements
of atmospheric properties over a range of heights.
• As an operational system for collecting information about the Earth on a repetitive
schedule remote sensing matured in the 1970s when instruments were flown on Skylab
(and later, the Space Shuttle) and on Landsat, the first satellite dedicated specifically to
monitoring land and ocean surfaces to map natural and cultural resources.
• By the 1980s, Landsat had been privatized and a widespread commercial utilization
of remote sensing had taken root in the U.S., France, Russia, Japan and other nations.
• A radar imaging system was the main sensor on Seasat and, going into the 1980s, a
variety of specialized sensors were placed in orbit primarily as research or feasibility
programs.
• The first non-military radar system was JPL’s Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-A) on the
Space Shuttle in 1982. Other nations soon followed with remote sensors that provided
similar or distinctly different capabilities.

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Size and Weight of Satellites

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 Cost of Satellite Missions
• James Webb Space Telescope (JWST): $10 billion
• Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP): $915 million
• LandSat-8: $855 million
• Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2): $280 million
• Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite
Observation (CALIPSO): $250 million
• CloudSat: $200 million
• Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE):
US $100 million, Germany $30 million

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