An Introduction to Google Earth Engine for Complete Beginners.
You can find a self-paced version of this workshop, and others, on our ArcGIS Online landing page.
Google Earth Engine is a geospatial processing service. With Earth Engine, you can perform geospatial processing at scale, powered by Google Cloud Platform. The purpose of Earth Engine is to:
Provide an interactive platform for geospatial algorithm development at scale Enable high-impact, data-driven science Make substantive progress on global challenges that involve large geospatial datasets Google Earth Engine combines a multi-petabyte catalog of satellite imagery and geospatial datasets with planetary-scale analysis capabilities and makes it available for scientists, researchers, and developers to detect changes, map trends, and quantify differences on the Earth's surface.
The Earth Engine API (application programming interface) provides the ability to create your own algorithms to process raster and vector imagery.
This session is geared toward people who would like to analyze satellite and vector data without access to computing resources typically required for that work on local computers. The session is hands-on, using the Earth Engine Javascript code editor.
The first part of the class will be an overview of the Google Earth Engine Platform, and Remote Sensing, in general. The second half will focus on accessing imagery, creating composites, and running analyses over stacks of images, computing statistics on imagery, creating charts and exporting the results of your analyses.
No previous experience with Earth Engine or JavaScript is necessary for the beginner workshop, but programming experience, basic knowledge of remote sensing and/or GIS are highly desirable.
Please note that this workshop is presented for Stanford University affiliates, and that the recordings and materials are provided without access to Google Earth Engine, included.
For best results, use a modern, Chromium-based browser.
If you are a Stanford University affiliate, and are not currently able to login to the Google Earth Engine Code Editor, email [email protected] to request access.
If you are not a Stanford affiliate, you can request access to Google Earth Engine at: https://signup.earthengine.google.com
You can access the slides for the workshop at: https://slides.com/staceymaples/rswithgee/
Once you have signed up for and received confirmation of your Google Earth Engine account, you can copy the script repository for this webinar by clicking on the following link, which will redirect you to the Google Earth Engine Code Editor and import a series of scripts designed to introduce you to the basic mechanics of working in Google Earth Engine:
https://code.earthengine.google.com/?accept_repo=users/stacemaples/SGC-EE101
This one doesn't really have a tutorial text, since it's really about looking at the code, and what it is doing. The code in the Sample Scripts above is well-commented, and should make for a pretty straightforward walk-through. For those that like to read, the following is the original instructors notes document I used as a jumping off point for this workshop. Much of it will be redundant, if you watch the video, but a few things, like the difference between running things locally, or on the server, I just gloss over, and are better covered, here:
Earth Engine 101 Instructor Guide
As noted, this webinar is a modified version of the Google Earth Outreach Team's own beginning workshop. You can find more materials to help you learn to use Google Earth Engine at: https://developers.google.com/earth-engine
Here are some highlights:
- The Google Earth Engine Data Catalog - https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets - Earth Engine's 60+ Petabyte public data archive includes more than forty years of historical imagery and scientific datasets, updated and expanded daily.
- JavaScript, REST and Python Guides - https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/guides - Google Earth Engine includes Python, JavaScript and REST APIs. The Quickstart for the REST API can be found, here: https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/reference/Quickstart
- The Google Earth Engine Developers Group represents nearly a decade of support and open development on the Google Earth Engine platform. If you can't find the answer you are looking for in the archive, the members of this forum are friendly, prompt and helpful with GEE questions: https://groups.google.com/g/google-earth-engine-developers
Original Google Earth Engine Beginners Training Materials
The Fourth Paradigm: Data-Intensive Scientific Discovery. Tony Hey, Stewart Tansley, Kristin Tolle.
Cloud-Based Remote Sensing with Google Earth Engine: Fundamentals and Applications - This book is the product of more than a year of effort from more than 100 individuals, working in concert to provide this free resource for learning how to use this exciting technology for the public good.
The book includes work from undergraduates, master’s students, PhD students, postdocs, assistant professors, associate professors, and independent consultants.