European spatial studies on the sea and the coastal zones / Remote sensing of the coastal zones

This course presents the contribution of remote sensing and European spatial data to the knowledge of current coastal and marine issues. For Marine Sciences, the challenge is to make progress through space missions on fundamental issues such as climate change, pollution control, sustainable exploitation of the oceans, offshore energy, navigation, protection of the coastal environment and planning of coastal infrastructures, etc. Thus, the space tool has become indispensable because it allows global, recurrent and long-term observation. The course begins by defining the fundamental notions of remote sensing to lead to the fields of application on the coast and the sea, passing through the different phases of image creation and processing to derive useful geographical information. The objective of the course is twofold, on the one hand, to show the place and usefulness of remote sensing in a systematic geographical approach on the coast and the sea, and on the other hand, to provide the theoretical and methodological elements essential to the understanding of the geographical information provided by European optical and radar satellite remote sensing images. The Tutorials are mainly oriented towards learning computerised techniques of mapping by remote sensing (using the European software SNAP and with European satellite images Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2, ENVISAT).

Impact

This course will involve training students in the processing and analysis of European satellite data on European software and on current issues (global warming, natural risks, biodiversity, etc.) of the coastal and marine areas of European space. The students will be aware of the achievements of Europe and more specifically of ESA in terms of space policy, with a particular focus on applications on the sea and the coastal areas.

Specifications