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MN-GM-ESDP1

Specialisation Module: Fundamentals of Earth System data processing
Identification number

MN-GM-ESDP1
Workload

180 h
Credits

6
Term

1st - 3rd Semester
Offered Every

on special announcement
Start

on special announcement
Duration

1 semester
1 Course types
a) Lecture
b) Exercises
c) Project
Contact time
14 h
14 h
2 h
Private study
30 h
60 h
60 h
2 Module objectives and skills to be acquired

Primary objectives:
  • Comprehension of data management as an important aspect of data science
  • Understanding of the types and properties of different Earth system datasets with a focus on meteorological datasets
  • Insights into methods, tools, and challenges for working with Earth system data
  • Ability to develop code to process, analyze, and visualize diverse types of Earth system data
Secondary objectives:
  • Best practices of data management and research software engineering
  • Presentation or scientific writing skills
3 Module Content
 
  •  Types of Earth system data
  • Data formats and standards
  • Earth science databases
  • Principles of Earth system data management
  • Working with time series data
  • Working with gridded data
  • Earth system metadata
  • FAIR Earth system data
  • Legal aspects, open data, and licensing
  • Ethical aspects
Literature:
Recknagel and Mitchener, Ecological Informatics - Data Management and Knowledge Discovery, Springer, 2018
https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/esdis/esco/standards-and-practices
4 Teaching methods

Lectures (in part online), hands-on exercises and discussions in classroom, programming project in a group
5 Prerequisites (for the module)

Formal: None.
The content of the course requires the undergraduate knowledge of programming (preferably in Python)
6 Type of examination

The module is concluded with a project work. For a given task, the students should independently plan, carry out and document a source code implementation. The project work has a duration of 8 weeks and the developed code, including unit tests has to be committed in electronic form into a git code repository. The results of the project work are presented at the student's choice either in a short oral presentation (graded, 20 slides, 25 minutes) or in a written report (graded, maximum 8 pages).
7 Credits awarded

The module is passed, and the credit points will be awarded, if
  1. the presentation of the results of the project work (oral presentation or written report) is passed.
The module grade is the grade of the presentation of the results of the project work.
8 Compatibility with other curricula

N/A
9 Proportion of final grade

Weight of the module grade in the overall grade:  6/150 (4 %)
10 Module coordinator

Martin Schultz
11 Further information

Version: LW 2024-01-18