Doctoral student (M/F) “Dissemination and valorization of satellite data within citizen observatories”

Description of the thesis subject

Title: Dissemination and valorization of satellite data within citizen observatories

Abstract:
A large number of application fields (agriculture, urban planning, ecology, climatology, etc.) now benefit from easy access to ever-increasing and diversified corpora of satellite images. However, remote sensing has long focused on the technical evaluation of sensors and satellite data, neglecting the development of tools to disseminate and valorize the mass of data and information produced. In this respect, the question arises of 1) the integration of satellite data (satellite images or maps derived from satellite images) into geographic data infrastructures, by thinking more specifically 2) about the development of citizen observatories valorizing spatial data and facilitating interaction with users.

Description:
A citizen observatory is defined as “any use of Earth observation technology in which citizens collect data and are empowered by the information generated by this data to participate in environmental management” (Grainger, 2017). According to the European Commission, which originated the concept, a citizen observatory should “1) use innovative Earth observation technologies [and] community-based systems for environmental monitoring, data collection, interpretation, and information provision; 2) empower communities to monitor and report on their environment; and 3) enable communities to access the information they need to make decisions, in a comprehensible and easy-to-understand form.”
The proposed thesis topic focuses on the conceptualization and development of citizen observatories integrating and promoting satellite data in new forms. The aim is to understand how this type of system can position itself as both spaces for information sharing and knowledge co-production. The aim is to understand 1) what knowledge can be provided by remote sensing data and by users?, and 2) how this knowledge can be disseminated, shared and valued interactively?
To do this, the thesis will be constructed in 3 parts.
First, it will involve carrying out bibliographic work on the concept of citizen environmental observatories, identifying existing observatories, the technical solutions used, their shortcomings, the types of knowledge shared, the reasons for their success (or failures). Particular interest will be given to observatories using satellite data or data derived from satellite data.
Second, it will be necessary to reflect on the challenges, levers, and barriers to integrating satellite data into geographic data infrastructures (GDIs). This integration involves questioning and exploring a set of methodological and technical dimensions around the online management, processing, and geovisualization of multi-source and multi-scale data.
Third, it will involve developing advanced interaction modules between users and data for the collaborative online production of new knowledge. This could, for example, take the form of tools for interpreting or annotating satellite images or time series. But it will also involve going further by considering the possibility for users to transmit their comments and analyses on the dynamics observed in satellite data, via questionnaires for example.
This in-depth work should be used to conceptualize and develop a prototype citizen observatory that will be implemented as part of ongoing research projects.
Thus, a first application case will focus on monitoring socio-environmental dynamics in Brazil (in the Amazon and the Pantanal). A first project will be based on the CHOVE-CHUVA application (www.sco.chove-chuva.org). This same project will be replicated and extended to the Pantanal region, still in Brazil as part of the SCO PANTANAL project.
The second application case will be anchored on monitoring urban environments. It will involve developing a citizen observatory approach for monitoring urban vegetation in connection with the implementation of public policies for adapting cities to urban heat islands (UHI). This work will be integrated into the ongoing dynamics within the National Observation Service Observil (CNRS INSU) within the framework of the NEO project: New Environmental Observatory of the PEPR Sustainable City and Innovative Building, and more specifically on the Rennes site, to ongoing projects such as the SCO ALTELYS and the CITY-ORCHESTRA Smart and Sustainable Territories project.

Candidate profile
The candidate must have a strong interest and good skills for scientific research based on information and communication technologies:
– Master’s degree in geography, geomatics, environmental sciences or computer science with expertise in geomatics, particularly in geovisualization and remote sensing.
– skills in geoprocessing of spatial information (satellite images, GIS, etc.) and programming (Python, R, GEE, etc.).
– skills in geovisualization (map servers, online mapping)
– autonomy in work and openness to other disciplines such as ecology, climatology, geography and image processing.
– adaptability and an interest in teamwork
– a particular interest in scientific cooperation with countries in the South
– an ability to communicate and work in a multidisciplinary team
– a good command of the English language for scientific publication
– knowledge and an appetite for IT development will be welcome

Thesis supervision: Damien ARVOR, Boris MERICSKAY, Jean NABUCET, Arnaud BELLEC
The thesis is financed and supervised by the ANR Telkante Lab: missions, equipment, data, etc.

References cited:
Grainger A. 2017. Citizen observatories and the new Earth Observation science. Remote Sensing, 9(2), 153

Work context

The doctoral position will be based at the Rennes site of the UMR LETG, in collaboration with the UMR ESO.

The UMR LETG is a joint research unit spread across three university sites (Brest, Nantes and Rennes). It is under the supervision of the CNRS and the universities of Brest, Nantes and Rennes 2. The unit brings together approximately 140 members, including 64 permanent staff (7 research directors, 5 research associates, 15 university professors, 25 lecturers, and 12 engineers and technicians), as well as just over 70 contract staff (approximately 50 doctoral students, 2 post-doctoral fellows and 20 contract engineers). LETG’s scientific work falls within the field of environmental geography in all its dimensions (physical, human, etc.), with particular attention paid to informational issues throughout the life cycle of geographic data (production, structuring, processing, dissemination and uses). The research activity is structured around three main axes: coastal environments, continental environments and remote sensing-geomatics.

The UMR ESO is mainly composed of geographers, urban planners and sociologists, but it also includes researchers from other disciplines such as environmental psychology, architecture and communication sciences. Its scientific objective is to contribute to the understanding of the spatial dimension of societies, with a particular interest in practices, experiences and representations of space.

The doctoral student will also collaborate regularly with the teams of the ALKANTE company. Indeed, the project is part of the TELKANTE LAB, a joint laboratory funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR), bringing together the LETG research unit and the ALKANTE company. This laboratory’s mission is to develop technical and software solutions facilitating the integration of remote sensing data into geographic data infrastructures (GDIs). The complementarity between LETG and ALKANTE makes it possible to envisage scientific and technological advances to facilitate the use of spatial information in various application areas (environment, risk management, etc.). ALKANTE has solid experience in the implementation of GDIs, notably through the development of the inter-ministerial open source platform PRODIGE, which makes it possible to promote geographic information to institutional and private users. However, current versions of this platform still integrate very little data from remote sensing. For its part, LETG is recognized for its expertise in the processing of remote sensing data (optical and radar imagery, in 2D and 3D), as well as in the production of indicators for monitoring socio-environmental dynamics (e.g., urban sprawl, agricultural practices, climate change). LETG also wishes to strengthen the visibility of its results outside the academic world.

The TELKANTE LAB pursues three main objectives:
1) Develop technological solutions facilitating the integration of remote sensing data into SDIs;
2) Integrate innovative data processing methods into SDIs to 3) produce new spatialized knowledge (e.g., spatio-temporal indicators);
3) Design ergonomic and user-friendly SDIs, allowing user experience to be taken into account in the process of interpreting geographic data.

The proposed thesis will focus more specifically on this third objective. Beyond the integration of satellite data into IDGs, the aim will be to contribute to the development of citizen observatories mobilizing spatial data and promoting interaction with users.

This thesis will also participate in the CNRS Joint Laboratory between LETG and Rennes Métropole. This aims to bring together researchers, local stakeholders, and citizens to work on finding the most effective solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change and make the region’s infrastructure more resilient. This collaboration is an original and unique mechanism in France in its form. It aims to respond innovatively to current issues by creating a space for sharing between the operational stakeholders of a local authority and the scientists of a research organization. Metropolitan agents and scientists will work together to produce homogeneous and reproducible data, which will make it possible to interpret the evolution of the place of trees in the city according to the public policies implemented.