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The Earth Mapping Laboratory (TEML) mission is to identify unique
remote sensing technologies that can be applied to mapping solutions and then integrated into K-16 learning modules. Although
TEML was founded in 2001 its project base is supported by over twenty-five years of hands-on experience. At TEML we focus
on the simple premise that anything that can be mapped results in a minimum of three discrete data values, x,y,and z. Where
X and Y defines the horizontal position of a data value “Z “. The Z point can be any data point; the depth of a water body,
the temperature in a certain part of a candle flame, or even the position of a treasure-laden shipwreck.
Past and
present projects include assisting with Ice Surface Mapping in Iceland and Greenland using Lasers from an airplane, using
sonar to reveal old coastlines in the Black Sea that correlate with the NOAH flood, looking for Oil Seeps in Colombia, South
America, and identifying safe passage for a Fiber Optics Cable in the Aleutian Islands. In the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays
we use sonar to show the best shapes for Oyster Bed reconstruction, to select the best spot to plant Submerged Aquatic Vegetation,
and investigate the geologic history of the Maryland/Virginia Barrier Island system. Our partners include NOAA, NASA, The
Maryland Geological Survey, Coastal Bays Program, EarthSpan, Americorps, The National Park Service, among others.
An
important parallel objective is to create innovative educational modules that integrate mapping technologies into data collection
packets that are simple for teachers and their students to use. Educational programs underway include a NOAA funded program
where Delmarva Teacher/Student High School Teams use computer-connected sensors to collect water quality data and then use
the web site www.datasharing.org to learn from it. NASA supported programs include “Robotics in the Classroom” and utilization
of remote control airplanes to collect earth surface imagery.
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