Towson University, a Maryland Space Grant Consortium (MSGC) partner, was selected as one of seven academic institutions across the country to participate in the Raytheon Synergy Project, a NASA/Earth System Science program focusing on applications of scientific data collect from space. Towson proposed developing an impervious surface map of the Chesapeake Bay and coastal bay watersheds based on the interpretation of Landsat imagery. Current efforts are directed at determining the degree to which certain landforms can be regularly and accurately identified in recently acquired (March 2000) imagery. MSGC is leading a mid-Atlantic Space Grant Consortia effort to involve teachers and students in collecting and reporting "ground truth" data to support Towson's efforts. Workshops were held in July and August 2000 to instruct 75 teachers throughout the watershed in the use of Global Position System (GPS) units to enable them and their students to collect and electronically report different types of herbaceous, forested, and water-impervious surfaces. The workshop-trained teachers also had an obligation to train four more teachers in their area to perform the same tasks during the 2000-2001 school year, thus multiplying the workshop training efforts.

NASA/Raytheon Synergy Project Website