Spatial Geosciences

Specialist areas:

At NSRI we have a long and distinctive history of spatial resource monitoring in which we combine remote sensing, near sensing with on ground monitoring. Our strength in this particular theme lies in quantitative methods that are used to generate (spatial) models of properties of the earth’s surface, generate predictions of these properties and develop monitoring schemes to keep track of their behaviour over time.

There is a clear requirement to assess and monitor the state of the environment, whether under EU frameworks (eg the water directive) or within a UK (eg the Environment Agency). In most cases it is neither feasible nor practical to obtain a comprehensive spatial sample of the physical environment and methods that can infer this information remotely or can quantify these using numerical methods are increasingly needed to provide an accurate measure of the state of our environment, from assessing and monitoring terrestrial carbon stocks in England and Wales to accurate monitoring of opium poppy production in Afghanistan.

Spatial data from earth observation sources forms an integral part of many studies of the natural environment including mapping and monitoring. We specialise in the practical application of the geographical information technologies of remote sensing, from aerial remote sensing techniques using high resolution digital imagery to high resolution satellite imagery integrated with medium resolution imagery.

Monitoring of natural resources is important to be able to assess effects of policy change and to determine changes due to climate and land use change. The design of monitoring networks depends on how the resource varies in space, across the landscape, and in time. We have a particular history and strength in the design and analysis of national natural resource monitoring schemes using specialised skills in statistics in the areas of sampling design and statistical inference applied to spatial and temporal data.

There are a set of advanced methods in which we specialize. For instance, we have developed a set of numerical models in which we formalize the relationship between the landscape and the environment property of interest. A particular example of this approach is Digital Soil Mapping, in mapping soil properties based on models of the relationship between the observed soils (where these exist) and the soil forming factors at that location and in the surrounding area. One of our unique strengths is that we are one of the few institutions in the UK that are able to combine this with traditional soil surveys methods, thereby benefiting from the combination of predictive power of these numerical models and expertise derived from extensive field work.

Another particular set of advanced methods we are currently developing are related to Data Fusion Techniques, in which we combine data from multiple sensor platforms such as a sequence of images from different satellites for the remote assessment of soil moisture. We are also working on integrating information obtained by sensors at different scales, from the soil surface, airborne and satellite based to improve our spatial assessments of soil, vegetation, and watershed behaviour.

We are also currently active, in close association with our sister theme, Soil Spatial Informatics, in a number of spatial assessments to determine effect of different land use options on soil functions and the consequences for the supporting services (crop production, ecosystem goods and services, C sequestration, etc.) in an interactive spatial context. Our ultimate objective is to assess the state of the environment in a changing climate under shifting landuse.

People:
Dr Ron Corstanje; Mrs Pat Bellamy; Mr Tim Brewer; Dr Jacqueline Hannam; Mr Daniel Simms; Dr Thomas Mayr; Dr Toby Waine; Miss Joanna Zawadzka

Visiting staff:

Professor Alex McBratney; Professor Murray Lark; Professor John Taylor;

Research students:

Fabio Veronesi; Stefano Cavazzi; Khaled Taalab