GEOS505

The Accessible Earth Study Abroad Program targets senior level undergraduate and first/second year graduate students seeking to utilize modern Earth observation systems (e.g., satellite observation systems, ground-based Geophysical networks) and data science technologies in their Geoscience research. The Program is based in the beautiful Umbrian hilltop City of Orvieto, Italy, an exceptional location from which to reflect upon the history of science from the Renaissance to the Space Age, and gain an appreciation of the global scope of modern Earth observation systems, the societal relevance of Geoscience research, and the range of research topics that may be performed with a combination of instrumentation and data science technologies. From Orvieto, students will have ample opportunities to immerse themselves in Italian culture and history, as well as develop ideas for how to utilize 21st century technologies to further our understanding of the Earth system. A five-day field trip will touch on a wide range of Geoscience and related topics, including the tectonic history of the Mediterranean region, the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, the enigmatic geodynamics of the Northern Apennines orogen, past and modern coastal hazards along the Adriatic coast, present-day Geological processes in the Alps, Neolithic and Etruscan Archaeology, and other topics. From Orvieto, students will learn to use several software tools for acquiring, analyzing, and interpreting Earth observation data sets, including data transfer protocols, Bash and Python shell scripting, Generic Mapping Tools (GMT), iPython/Jupyter notebooks for interactive analysis and documentation, git and GitHub for version control, scientific collaboration, and social networking, and other software tools that are empowering modern scientific discovery.