Research lines

EOLab's research activities revolve around harnessing the power of geospatial data and remote sensing for the greater good, with a focus on land surface-atmosphere interactions and, to a lesser extent, coastal monitoring. To this end, we lead several competitive research projects to develop, validate, and employ multiple products, with a strong emphasis on co-design strategies and the use of AI, while maintaining a rigorous understanding of the underlying physical processes.

Current and past projects (read more) include the development of:

  1. High-resolution (spatial and temporal) land use and land cover products in different ecoregions across the globe.
  2. Surface change detection (including tree decline, caused by disease) products and surface water extent mapping.
  3. Ground validation of gridded precipitation products in complex terrain (e.g., Andes mountains).
  4. Bias correction of satellite products (precipitation, land surface temperature) for research and applications.
  5. Trend analysis and extreme event characterization.
  6. Ecological applications and ecosystem service characterization/quantification.
  7. Coastal regionalization schemes based on the analysis of long time series of satellite data (e.g., Thermal fronts).
  8. Characterization of user communities and development of strategies to lower product adoption barriers (Read more about our capacity-building initiatives here)

Our research spans the acquisition and processing of diverse geospatial and other complementary datasets, including satellite imagery from multiple agencies and providers (primarily Copernicus, NASA, and USGS). In our research activities, we leverage the power of cloud computing and AI/ML, with a particular emphasis on platforms like Google Earth Engine, to harness the vast potential of geospatial data for innovative insights and solutions. Our commitment to FAIR and Open Science principles underpins all our research efforts, ensuring transparency and accessibility for all.

In 2024, the eoLab is set to streamline its research endeavors, consolidating activities into three principal lines of focus. These developments will be progressively unveiled, commencing with the initial announcements slated to start in late January.