Home > Electrical/Electronics > New Satellite Data Hub To Lead Climate Studies

New Satellite Data Hub To Lead Climate Studies

On 30 December, ministers announced backing for a study to analyse satellite images that will predict the future impact of climate change and inform governmental actions.

A £5m (~€5.89m) satellite data centre involving the University of Edinburgh and the University of Leeds will use satellite technology to help manage climate change, including helping lower the risk of people being affected by flooding. The data centre will bring together 50 PhD researchers to help tackle climate change.

Measurements from satellites on rising sea levels, greenhouse gases and melting glaciers will help provide policy makers, government and industry with the data and knowledge they need to better understand the effects of climate change and make predictions.

This knowledge and data could lead to the revision of preventative measures for vulnerable areas such as installing flood defences to protect coastal towns, identifying areas increasingly at risk of flooding and monitoring pollution levels in residential and industrial areas.

Dr Anna Hogg, co-director of the centre in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds, said: “Earth observation satellites collect hundreds of terabytes of data per day, delivering important information about how fast glaciers flow, the size of forest fires in the Amazon, and the quality of the air that we breathe.

READ ALSO  Changing Ownership Of Discos Won’t Solve Nigeria’s Electricity Problem, Power Sector Stakeholders Say

“We have a fantastic opportunity to grow the community of researchers with the skills and knowledge to measure the how our environment is changing.”

Dr Edward Mitchard, centre leader at the University of Edinburgh, said: “We are looking for outstanding candidates from environmental science, maths, physics, engineering and computer science disciplines to undertake a PhD in this exciting and innovative centre.

“The students will belong to a happy, inclusive and stimulating research environment, with supervision from world-leading earth observation scientists.”

The Centre for Satellite Data in Environmental Science (SENSE), is a virtual academic collaboration and is being established with funding from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the UK Space Agency (UKSA). It will work with 18 businesses and partners, including Airbus and Unilever, who will co-fund, co-design and co-supervise 42 of the PhD research projects.

Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom said: “The UK is leading the world in tackling climate change and we have set the bar high, as the first country to legislate to eliminate our contribution to climate change by 2050, and the fastest in the G20 to cut emissions.

“This new satellite data centre will give us instant images showing us the true impact of climate change and in doing so, help us develop innovative new ways of tackling it.”

READ ALSO  NERC Entreats Tertiary Institution’s Assistance To Improve Power Supply

Professor Duncan Wingham, Executive Chair of NERC, said: “The researchers will support cutting-edge scientific discovery, new data-based products and new Earth observation technologies that will provide benefits to society.

“Working with the UK Space Agency gives students unique opportunities to engage with the wider community.”

Source: scitecheuropa

Total Views: 61 ,
0
0

2 thoughts on “New Satellite Data Hub To Lead Climate Studies

  1. Pingback: generic ventolin

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *