Note: Team roles and the number of subject directors are tentative and may change as the season is finalized.

Subject Area Hub

Earth & Space Science

Unravel the complex systems that shape our planet and the cosmos. Study ocean currents, glacial movements, satellite electromagnetics, stellar astrophysics, and geological mineralogy.

Tentative Leadership: 1 Subject Director

Welcome to Bronx Science Earth & Space

Earth & Space Science is an incredibly diverse, research-heavy subject area. You will study planetary-scale geological and meteorological cycles, explore deep space stellar dynamics, and utilize Earth-observation satellite data. This is where we learn how to translate 2D satellite images and geological maps into comprehensive 3D system models.

Success in this division rewards meticulous organization, rapid data-retrieval strategies, and cohesive partner collaboration. You'll master the art of formatting high-density binders and cheat sheets that cover hundreds of pages of textbooks, geological charts, and astronomical catalogs. These skills prepare you directly for college geology, astronomy, and environmental engineering courses.

Subject Lead Expectations

Collaborate with event managers (EMs) to produce high-density public reference binders.
Help curate extensive flashcard decks for Deep Sky Objects (DSOs) and hand-samples.
Design and grade weekly practice tests that mimic invitational timing and stress.
Foster a culture of sharing research summaries and geological observation guides.

Events & Study Focus

Select tabs within each event card to explore descriptions, topic lists, textbook pathways, and practice links.

Dynamic Planet

Team of 2

Trace the flow of energy and materials across Earth's hydrosphere, exploring the geological and physical behaviors of either rivers and glaciers, or the global ocean.

What You'll Learn

How global convective engines drive marine and freshwater currents.
How to read and interpret complex hydrologic charts and hydrographs.
The sediment transport dynamics that build river landscapes and shorelines.
To analyze human alterations of global fluid reservoirs.

Big Questions

How does groundwater drawdown in coastal aquifers lead to saltwater intrusion? Trace the hydraulic gradient changes.

How does thermohaline circulation link global sea-surface salinity and temperature profiles to maintain long-term climate equilibrium?

2025-2026 Focus

Freshwater Hydrology

Groundwater Hydraulics: Darcy's Law, aquifers (confined vs. unconfined), water tables, artesian wells, and cone of depression drawdown dynamics.
Fluvial Geomorphology: Channel types (meandering, braided), stream ordering, sediment transport (saltation, bedload), flood recurrence intervals, hydrograph scaling.
Glaciology: Glacial mass balance (accumulation vs. ablation), ice movement mechanics, erosional features (cirques, fjords), depositional features (moraines, eskers).

2026-2027 Focus

Physical & Geological Oceanography

Ocean Currents: Wind-driven surface currents, Ekman transport, geostrophic gyres, and deep-sea thermohaline "global conveyor belt" dynamics.
Wave & Tide Physics: Wave shoaling, refraction, tsunami mechanics, diurnal/semidiurnal tides, and solar-lunar alignment (spring vs. neap tides).
Marine Geology: Plate tectonics of mid-ocean ridges, trenches, hydrothermal vents, passive/active continental margins, and abyssal sedimentation.

Standard Textbooks

Essentials of Oceanography

Trujillo & Thurman

Standard Physical Oceanography

Introduction to Hydrology

Viessman & Lewis

In-Depth Freshwater Hydraulics

Related College Courses

Physical Geology Hydrology Physical Oceanography Climatology

USGS Water Science School

Comprehensive interactive guides on hydrological cycles & data

NOAA Ocean Service Education

Official physical oceanography tutorials, wave animations & data portals

Remote Sensing

Team of 2

Observe global environmental changes from space. Learn how Earth-orbiting satellites capture, process, and analyze electromagnetic radiation to track planetary evolution.

What You'll Learn

How specific electromagnetic wavelengths reveal chemical surface properties.
To distinguish active (radar, lidar) from passive remote sensors.
How spatial, spectral, temporal, and radiometric resolutions limit data.
To calculate environmental indices (NDVI, NDWI, NDSI) from band datasets.

Big Questions

Why does healthy green vegetation exhibit an extremely sharp increase in reflectance (the "red edge") at near-infrared wavelengths?

How can you utilize multiple bands from the Landsat 8 satellite to calculate a normalized index that maps wildfire burn severity?

Sensor Physics

Electromagnetics & Orbits

EM Spectrum: Ultraviolet, visible, near-IR, shortwave-IR, thermal-IR, and microwave properties. Refraction, scattering, absorption.
Orbit Dynamics: Sun-synchronous polar orbits (optimal for passive sensing) vs. Geostationary orbits (ideal for constant meteorological surveillance).
Sensor Systems: Active sensors (Lidar, RADAR) vs. passive optical sensors (multispectral scanners, spectrometers).

Digital Image Analysis

Data & Calculations

Major Satellites: Landsat, Sentinel, MODIS, GRACE, Terra/Aqua band classifications and sensor configurations.
Spectral Indices: Calculating and mapping NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), NDWI (Water), and NDSI (Snow) using band math.
Phenomenology: Image interpretation, false-color compositing, supervised vs. unsupervised classification, radiometric calibration, and atmospheric correction.

Standard Textbooks

Introduction to Remote Sensing

James B. Campbell

Standard University Syllabus

Related College Courses

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Remote Sensing 101 Satellite Meteorology

NASA ARSET Training

Official webinars and trace environmental data tutorials

Sentinel Playground

Explore and manipulate live satellite spectral bands globally

Astronomy

Team of 2

Explore stellar physics, orbital mechanics, and deep space cosmos. Apply astrophysics equations to solve binary orbits, exoplanet transits, and stellar evolutions.

What You'll Learn

The lifecycle of stars from stellar nebulae to supermassive black holes.
How to apply Kepler's and Newton's orbital equations to celestial systems.
How stellar spectrums reveal temperature, composition, and velocity.
To identify designated Deep Sky Objects (DSOs) of the season.

Big Questions

How can you derive the orbital distance, radius, and atmospheric composition of an exoplanet using transit light curves?

What nucleosynthesis changes trigger the iron-core collapse of a massive star, and how does this create a Type II Supernova?

Stellar Astrophysics

Stellar Life & HR Diagrams

Stellar Lifecycles: Jeans instability, protostars, main-sequence nucleosynthesis, red giant pathways, white dwarf limits (Chandrasekhar mass), neutron stars, and black holes.
HR Diagrams: Classification of stellar luminosity, absolute and apparent magnitudes, spectroscopic parallax, and color indices.
Spectroscopy: Wien's Law, Stefan-Boltzmann Law, Balmer lines, and Doppler velocities.

Orbital & Observational Astronomy

Celestial Math & Catalogs

Orbital Mechanics: Kepler's laws, Newton's law of universal gravitation, binary star math (determining stellar masses and separations).
Exoplanets: Detection methodologies (radial velocity wobbles, transit light curves, gravitational microlensing).
Deep Sky Objects (DSOs): Catalog recognition, coordinates, and physical mechanisms of designated stellar nebulae, supernova remnants, and active galaxies.

Standard Textbooks

An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics

Carroll & Ostlie

"The Big Orange Book" (Standard Astro)

Astronomy Today

Chaisson & McMillan

In-Depth Observational Systems

Related College Courses

Astrophysics I/II General Astronomy Cosmology

PBS Space Time

Fascinating, highly detailed mathematical astrophysics lectures

Chandra Education

Official NASA X-Ray stellar lifecycle and spectroscopy guides

Rocks & Minerals

Team of 2

Unveil the history written in Earth's crust, identifying minerals and rocks, and analyzing the petrological environments and economic contexts of their formation.

What You'll Learn

To identify hand-samples using hardness, cleavage, and streak.
How rock textures (aphanitic, foliated) indicate plate tectonic origins.
The mineral structural chemistry of silicate and non-silicate groups.
The industrial and economic uses of geological ore minerals.

Big Questions

How does Bowen's Reaction Series predict which minerals will crystallize first from cooling basaltic magma?

How can you distinguish Igneous Obsidian from Metamorphic Coal using density, fracture, and specific gravity tests?

Mineralogy

Mineral Physics & Chemistry

Mineral Properties: Hardness (Mohs scale), cleavage axes, luster, streak, specific gravity, crystal habits (isometric, hexagonal), and diagnostic indicators (magnetism, acid reactions).
Mineral Chemistry: Silicate tetrahedral groupings (nesosilicates, inosilicates, tectosilicates), carbonate groups, halide, oxide, and sulfide ores.
Bowen's Reaction Series: Continuous vs. discontinuous crystallization branches and mineral solid solutions.

Petrology

Rock Classification & Tectonics

Igneous Rocks: Felsic vs. mafic composition, intrusive phaneritic textures (granite) vs. extrusive aphanitic textures (basalt, pumice, obsidian).
Sedimentary Rocks: Clastic (shale, sandstone) vs. chemical/biogenic (limestone, coal), sedimentary structures (cross-bedding, ripple marks, mudcracks).
Metamorphic Rocks: Foliated textures (slate, schist, gneiss) vs. non-foliated textures (marble, quartzite), metamorphic grade indices, and plate tectonic origins.

Standard Textbooks

Manual of Mineral Science

Klein & Dutrow

Standard University Mineralogy

Related College Courses

Physical Geology Mineralogy Igneous & Metamorphic Petrology

Mindat.org

World's largest mineral database, structural properties and images

Earth Rocks! Geology

Excellent visual walkthroughs of rock identification, textures, and field formations