This course will teach the basics and applications of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing for environmental monitoring. It will feature a mixture of theory lessons and corresponding practical tutorials. The latter will particularly focus on Sentinel-1 time series data (backscatter intensities) and their analysis with open source software (e.g., ESA’s SNAP toolbox, SARbian OS).
The summer school will use a flipped classroom approach for teaching. That is, each participant is required to complete the EO college "Echoes in Space" massive open online course (www.eo-college.org) before the actual 4-day hands-on training takes place. In this way, attendees will already have some basic knowledge about SAR remote sensing when the live course starts, making its implementation much more efficient. After the training, each participant will receive a certificate of achievement for successfully completing the 1st EMSAfrica Summer School on Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Remote Sensing.
Attendees of the summer school are required to bring their own laptops and external hard drives in order to be able to take part in the practical tutorials. The following system parameters are recommended for the hands-on exercises:
Processors: 4 cores (64-bit)
RAM: 8 GB
GPU: 128 MB
Disc space: 30 GB
The course is open to anyone, from university students and early-career researchers to individuals employed by government agencies or private companies. Individuals from southern Africa working in academia (i.e., from undergraduate students to PostDocs) are especially encouraged to participate, and they can apply for a slot funded by the BMBF to cover costs of travel and accommodation. Ten fully funded slots are available.
WITS Rural Facility, University of the Witwatersrand, Acornhoek, South Africa
