Environmental Monitoring
Geospatial imaging backed by on-the-ground analysis is transforming the monitoring of heritage and the environment
LSN has been involved in pioneering work supported by the UK’s Humanitarian Innovation Fund to explore the opportunities with open source earth observation data, drone surveys and community to map, model and monitor sensitive sites around the world.
Working with communities we have been training local teams to document sentinel sites from the deserts of Mali to the coast of Zanzibar in 3D, enabling local people to explore these structures in the fourth dimension – through time and also through different spectra – to reveal the unseen. We have been exploring innovative ways of helping people analyse, experience, and understand such places in new ways either on-line, in VR, AR or mixed reality.
Geospatial imaging & remote monitoring in the context of Ukraine
War in Ukraine has left farmland with critical environmental damage from munitions and chemical spills, endangering farmers and food security.
We have brought together a network of scientists and support teams initially to map the contamination and hazards using Earth observation data, drone monitoring and geophysics to analyse the soil to map and understand the hazards and contaminants in agricultural land affected by the war.
This will enable land for remediation to be prioritised and ultimately enable Ukrainian farmers to avoid dangerous areas, and accelerate the return to productivity; helping to restore food security.
The consortium includes Royal Agricultural University, Sumy National Agrarian University and Arup. Different aspects of this programme and how it links with ongoing initiatives are explored in more detail in the blogs below.