NOAA CoastWatch/PacIOOS Satellite and Ocean Data Training Course
Course Description
This 4-day satellite and ocean data training course will be held virtually during February 10-13 (FJT), 2026. It is co-hosted by CoastWatch/OceanWatch Central Pacific and the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS).
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Join course via googlemeet here
Learning Outcomes
- Learn where to find satellite, remote sensing, and ocean parameter data
- Become familiar with the ERDDAP platform to visualize, subset, and download data
- Learn to judge which products are appropriate for your application or who to contact to get guidance
- Apply what you learn on a personal project so that you leave the course with ready-to-use workflows
Course Logistics
This course will be conducted entirely online. Anyone is free to sign up for the course, although it is targeted at participants in the Pacific Islands region, and the live sessions are scheduled to align with their workday. At the start of each day (9:00 am FJT, 11:00 am HST), there will be a live session where we will preview the material participants should go over that day, discuss the previous day’s material, and answer any questions. Each day, there will be a live Q&A session (2:00-3:00 pm FJT, 4:00-5:00 pm HST) to answer any questions regarding the materials, exercises, or the project you are working on.
Participants should expect to spend about 1-2 hours/day in live sessions and at least 2-3 hours/day working on their own, going through the course material at their own pace, and working on their project. All of the course materials are available online, and participants will go through them at their own pace, but there is a suggested list of modules to cover for each day of the course. Instructors will be available during the week to help or answer questions. The last day will be a 2-3 hour student presentation day (see below).
Project
As part of the course, participants are expected to come with a specific project to work on during the class. Participants get more out of the workshop if they have specific questions or projects to work on. Everyone will give a short (1 slide, 2-minute MAX) lightning talk during the last class session. The project can be as simple as making a map or a time series for the region of interest, for those who are new to working with satellite data, or as complex as a participant feels comfortable with. Any ancillary data needed for projects should be available on hand.
Course Structure
The Day 1 live session will include an introduction to the course and the instructors. This will be an opportunity for participants to introduce themselves and briefly describe their class project. On Days 2 and 3, during the live session, the instructors will review the previous day’s homework, preview the course activities for the self-study periods, and answer any questions that have come up. Guest lectures and tools demos may also be included. Participants work at their own schedule and pace to complete the course content and work on their individual projects. The first few days feature video tutorials on satellite data, example software tutorials, and homework exercises. As the class progresses, participants will use the self-study period to work on their individual projects.
Schedule
| Day (FJT) | Time (FJT) | Topic | Presenter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 - February 10 | 9:00 AM (live session) | Introduction to NOAA CoastWatch & PacIOOS | Daisy Shi & Lauren Kaiser |
| Tools & Resources (ERDDAP & Voyager) | Daisy Shi & Lauren Kaiser | ||
| 11:00 AM (Self-Paced Work) | Module 1: Satellite 101 (Part 1 & Part 2) | ||
| Module 2: Tools & Strategies for your Project | |||
| Tutorial 1: ERDDAP Basics | |||
| Tutorial 2: PacIOOS Voyager User Tutorial | |||
| Optional Tutorial: MATLAB, R, or Python | |||
| Project Development 1: Make a map on the ERDDAP make-a-graph interface with a dataset from the CoastWatch Data Catalog. Practice downloading the data as a netCDF file using the download interface (i.e., select the nc file format in ERDDAP). | |||
| Project Development 2: Review presentation guidelines and examples from previous courses | |||
| 2:00 PM | Q & A Session | ||
| Day 2 - February 11 | 9:00 AM (live session) | Ocean Color Satellite Data Products and Application in the Fisheries | Ryan Vandermeulen |
| Using Satellite Data with GIS | Lauren Kaiser | ||
| 11:00 AM (Self-Paced Work) | Module 1: Satellite Ocean Color | ||
| Module 2: Satellite Water Quality | |||
| Module 3: Harmful Algal Blooms (HABS, Part 1 & Part 2) | |||
| Module 4: What Dataset(s) to Choose | |||
| ArcGIS Tutorial 1: ArcGIS Tools Tutorial | |||
| ArcGIS Tutorial 2: Ocean Color & Water Quality | |||
| MATLAB, R, or Python Tutorials: Comparison of chlorophyll data from different sensors | |||
| Project Development 1: Identify which datasets are best suited for your application from OceanWatch Central Pacific, CoastWatch Search Tool, PacIOOS ERDDAP, and PacIOOS Search Tool. | |||
| Project Development 2: Find the data on ERDDAP. Think about what date range and spatial resolution you need, and which time composite you decided to use (daily, weekly, or monthly). You should be able to explain why you chose the specific product. | |||
| Project Development 3: Download data needed for your project and create a plot (map, time-series, etc.) | |||
| 2:00 PM | Q & A Session | ||
| Day 3 - February 12 | 9:00 AM (live session) | Sea Surface Temperature Satellite Data and Applications in Coastal Regions | Kisei Tanaka |
| Data Demo | Lauren Kaiser | ||
| 11:00 AM (Self-Paced Work) | Module 1: Satellite Sea Surface Temperature | ||
| Module 2: Satellite Salinity, Wind, and Altimetry | |||
| Module 3: Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) | |||
| ArcGIS Tutorial: Tracking Turtles & Temperature | |||
| MATLAB, R, or Python Tutorial: Match satellite data to track locations | |||
| Project Development 1: Create a slide. Include your name, affiliation, a short description of your project, one or two images (map, time series, histogram, cute picture) that you were able to make in relation to your project, what specific satellite product(s) and software you used | |||
| Project Development 2: Optional: you can include cool picture(s) of animals or technology related to your project. If applicable: also include challenges, data products that you wish were available (satellite-related), needs unmet by current data/services offerings. | |||
| Project Development 3: Upload your final slide(s) to the 2026 Paticipant Presentation folder. | |||
| 2:00 PM | Q & A Session | ||
| Day 4 - February 13 | 9:00 AM (live session) | Participant Presentations (2-minute presentation on your slide(s) ) | |
| Course Feedback |
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Daisy Shi | CoastWatch/Pacific OceanWatch, Operations Manager |
| Lauren Kaiser | PacIOOS, Data Management Specialist |
| Ryan Vandermeulen | NOAA Fisheries Satellite Coordinator |
| Kisei Tanaka | NOAA PIFSC, Research Marine Biologist |
| Cara Wilson | CoastWatch/West Coast Node, PI |