| layout | page |
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| title | Our Curriculum | Open Climate Science for Agriculture |
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Our curriculum, "Open Climate Science for Agriculture," is composed of five (5) modules, each designed to be taught in about 4 hours. A brief description of each module is presented below. We're still developing the curriculum, so some modules may not be available yet.
Parlez-vous français? Our curriculum is also available in French! Also in Arabic!
Module 1
What NASA satellites, field data, and models can be used to analyze and predict Earth's climate variability?- Learn how re-analysis data, General Circulation Models, and Earth Systems models are generated and how they differ
- Discover where different climate datasets can be obtained, at different spatial and temporal scales
- Read and plot different climate variables from NASA datasets
Module 2
How can we analyze gridded climate datasets with spatial and temporal attributes? How is climate variability measured and modeled?- Learn what indices are available for meteorological drought, soil moisture drought, atmospheric water demand, and soil water balance
- Efficiently load and analyze big climate datasets, including long climate data records
- Calculate a drought index
Module 3
What tools and datasets are available to quantify water quantity and availability?- Get acquainted with the major fluxes and pools of the terrestrial water cycle
- Know where to access remotely sensed or modeled data on water storage anomalies, evapotranspiration, and soil moisture
- Calculate a water budget
Module 4
How can satellite observations and models help to predict and map indicators of soil health?- Know what remote-sensing and model-derived datasets are available to map dynamic soil properties (pH, SOC, soil texture)
- Understand the basics of statistical learning and how classifiers are trained and validated against independent data
Module 5
How can NASA datasets be used to map crop conditions?- Access and utilize satellite-based datasets on plant productivity, condition, and evapotranspiration
- Understand how plants link between the carbon and water cycles through photosynthesis and evapotranspiration
All images from NASA.gov websites.