Monitoring environmental recovery of damaged area in Tohoku, Japan from space & ground for environmental education

On March 11, 2011, Great East Japan Earthquake struck Tohoku Region of Japan. Huge area in the northeast coast of Japan was seriously damages by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami. At that time, more than 5000 satellite images were taken within two weeks after the disaster under the international cooperation. The images enhanced the serious damages of the area. However, one of the most important thing which we have to do from now on with satellite images is to monitor how the environment conditions of the area are recovering step by step. In 2012, Tokai University started the Space Eye Project to monitor the environment recovery of some of the damaged areas in Miyagi Prefecture with satellite images and field survey under the cooperation with local high school students. The main purpose of this project is the promotion of environmental education with remote sensing. The high school students are learning the use of satellite images for environment recovery monitoring and its limitation. This project will last for at least five years under the Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research sponsorship by MEXT(Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) and JSPS(The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science). The outcome of this project will be open to public via Internet. Copyright