Unveil the secrets of Earth’s Dynamic Systems: Join the Open Challenge!

The European Space Agency is hosting the 2^nd edition of the Earth System Science Workshop at its new research facility – the ESRIN Science Hub, in partnership with the Sorbonne Universite Paris, Academie Spatiale d’Ile de France and IPGP. The event will take place between 26^th of February – 1^st of March 2024, with an information session on the 19th of February from 14:30 – 16:00 CET.

The scope of the workshop is to train PhD students in working with Earth Observation data to understand Earth system dynamics and processes. The participating students will be working on several topics, looking on how to best exploit various EO datasets to derive societal relevant insights and design a webstory to be published on EO Dashboard, illustrating the insights.

The technology partners for this workshop are the DeepESDL Platform (https://earthsystemdatalab.net) – providing the access to data and cloud computing, and the NASA-ESA-JAXA EO Dashboard (https://eodashboard.org) – providing the storytelling tools and hosting the results.

Challenges are open to 20 global (groups of) participants! 🌐

In parallel with the workshop, we are opening 20 spots for global teams of online participants to take part in solving the same challenge that the PhD students will try to solve on site. These online participants will get access to the same resources and training and will have the opportunity to have their story published on the EO Dashboard. Note that you may work alone or in a team of up to 3 people.

🚀 The Challenge Unveiled: Exploring Earth Dynamics with DeepESDL

The scientific investigations will take place on the DeepESDL platform (Deep Earth System Data Lab) – an AI-ready, collaborative environment enabling researchers to understand the complex dynamics of the Earth System using multi-variate empirical approaches with numerous global observations and environmental and climate datasets.

For a full list of available datastores and capabilities of the platform visit the DeepESDL documentation: https://deepesdl.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

🌟 What Awaits You:

• Data at Your Fingertips: Dive into vast collections of Earth data and wield computing resources via the DeepESDL platform.
• Tell a Captivating Tale: Unleash your storytelling prowess by deciphering insights and weaving them into a compelling narrative.

🌐 Who Can Join?

Anyone, but room is limited! The Challenges are open for 20 groups of Earth enthusiasts, researchers, and storytellers from around the globe to unravel the mysteries of Earth’s sub-systems. A group can be one person if you are feeling up to the challenge, but if you work together as a team, please only complete one (1) registration and mention all group member names in the form. Please limit your group to max 3 people. Each team will be given 1 access to the DeepESDL platform to complete the challenge on.

The only requirement is an Internet connection and 1 active GitHub handle per team. Register to participate online.

Note that the in-person element is only for pre-selected students from participating universities. Online participation is open to everyone.

Registration deadline is February 20th 

Since room in the challenge is limited, ESA will decide participation based on motivation.

Important information for participants!:

🔍 Challenge Stages:

1. Scientific Investigation: Dive into DeepESDL’s Jupyter Lab, explore available datasets and tools this platform provides!
   • Check out the List of public datasets you may use to tackle your challenge! You can also visualize selected datasets in the viewer!
2. Select your Challenge: Keep an eye on the website, in mid-February the list of suggested topics for the challenge will be published. Pick the one you’re keen on and start the journey in Earth System Data exploration. To see examples of current stories, check out https://eodashboard.org/
   • See the preview list of challenges here.
3. Develop Solutions: Start working on your challenge by extracting insights from real-world data stored in a user-friendly datacube format! Use advanced data analysis and visualization tools: all available within the DeepESDL platform!
   • The solution will be in the format of a Jupyter Notebook.
   • Create the notebook and DO NOT forget to submit your project by 1st March 2024!
   • Find a template for your notebook here
     • (Projects should be submitted in accordance with the local time of your “team leader” (the person in charge of your team)
4. Storytelling: Craft a captivating story to share your discoveries with the world. Familiarise yourself with EO Dashboard public datasets and prepare your story for publication on EO Dashboard.
   • Share your story in PowerPoint format. See the layout and Find the template for your story here.

🌐 Evaluation Panel: A team of experts from ESA, NASA, JAXA, Universite Sorbonne, and the University of Leipzig will assess your submissions in the following weeks.

🌠 The Prize: The most compelling stories earn a spot on the award-winning EO Dashboard—a collaborative project by ESA, NASA, and JAXA.

💡 Information Session: An online information session is taking place on the 19th of February from 14:30 – 16:00 CET. During this session you will receive information to help you get started with the platform, get insights on resources and how to craft your storytelling project.  The link to join the meeting will become active on the 19th of February.

The presentations from the information session will be shared here once available.

You will need GitHub to participate in the challenge and submit your (group’s) answer, so make sure you have an account! Register online using the page above to receive the time and details in advance via email. The webinar will be 14:30 – 16:30 CET, and materials from it will be available online.

See the materials from the information session on how to use DeepESDL and how to organise your story.

📢 Watch this Space: More details are incoming! Keep an eye on ESA’s social media channels for the big reveal.

🛰️ Ready for Liftoff? Register to secure your spot in the Open Global Challenge! 🌍✨ Registration deadline is February 20th