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Research Group on Global Change Unit - UCG

Description

The study area of the Global Change Unit is related to the changes that our planet has experienced, which are analysed with the support of remote sensing satellites and the digital processing of the images provided by them. The aim of the research group is to develop operational algorithms in order to estimate different parameters such as land and sea surface temperature, land surface emissivity, albedo, thermal inertia, evapotranspiration, net radiation, total atmospheric water-vapour content, etc. The spatio-temporal dynamics of land cover from satellites is also studied. All of this is done based on the data provided by satellite-based sensors located on satellites platforms (AVHRR, TM, AATSR, MODIS, SEVIRI, METOP, ASTER, etc.) and airbone sensors (DAIS, AHS, etc.). In addition, the UCG also organises and carries out frequent field campaigns to determine some of these parameters using radiometers, thermal cameras, etc. 

The UCG has, among other scientific instrumentation, satellite image reception antennas corresponding to the MSG (Meteosat Second Generation) and NOAA satellites, as well as a reception station for obtaining images from the TERRA and AQUA satellites (www.uv.es/iplsat/). The UCG is a reference group that allows to apply the developed algorithms to the images received in real time; to maintain an archive of satellite data that can be available to any public body interested in monitoring natural disasters, desertification, forest fires, etc.; and to participate in projects for the development of future space missions for earth observation, both nationally and internationally.

The UCG also has extensive experience with active participation in different research projects, leading two European projects:

  • WATERMED "WATer use Efficiency in natural vegetation and agricultural areas by remalnom sensing in the MEDiterranean basin”, in which 5 groups from Spain, Denmark, France, Egypt and Morocco have participated. 
  • EAGLE "Exploitation of Angular effects in Land surfacE observations from satellites”, in which groups from Spain, the Netherlands and France have participated.

And participating in numerous European projects: WATCH "Water and Global Change" of the 6th framework programme and CEOP-AEGIS "Coordinated Asia-European long-term Observing system of Qinghai - Tibet Plateau hydro-meteorological processes and the Asian-monsoon systEm with Ground satellite Image data and numerical Simulations" of the 7th programme. In addition, we have participated and/or led other projects financed by the European Space Agency (CEFLES2, AGRISAR, SEN2FLEX, SPARC, SIFLEX y DAISEX), the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI).

It is also worth mentioning the numerous collaborations of the UCG with research staff from national and international research centres, particularly with the International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) of the Netherlands, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), the Alterra Research Institute at Wageningen University and Research Center in the Netherlands, the University of Washington (USA), the National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) of the Netherlands, the Institut National de Recherche Agronomique of Avignon and Bordeaux (France), the Groupe de Recherche en Télédetection Radiométrique at the Louis Pasteur University of Strasbourg (France), the Laboratory of Sustainable Agriculture of the CSIC in Córdoba, the Department of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resources at the University of Chile, the University of Marrakech (Morocco).

Goals CT
  • Estimation of physical and biophysical parameters from satellite images: temperature, emissivity, evapotranspiration, thermal inertia, etc.
  • Study of the spatio-temporal dynamics of land cover from satellites.
  • Calibration of remote sensing satellites.
  • Validation of physical and biophysical parameter estimation algorithms.
  • Atmospheric corrections of satellite images.
Research lines
  • Geoportal

    GEOPORTAL (http://ceosspain.lpi.uv.es/) providing historical (since 2007) and real-time (less than 5 hours) products of the SEVIRI and MODIS sensors.

  • Calibration / validation

    Calibration of remote sensing satellites by carrying out in situ measurements simultaneously with passing satellites. Implementation of in situ measurement stations in different parts of Spain (Doñana Natural Area, Almería, Barrax, etc.) and the world (Peru, Chile, etc.). Validation of algorithms.

  • Atmospheric correction

    Development of correction methods for atmospheric disturbance in the data provided by artificial satellites.

  • Parameter estimation from satellite data

    Development of algorithms to estimate physical and biophysical parameters from satellite data, such as temperature, albedo, reflectivity, land surface emissivity, thermal inertia, evapotranspiration, atmospheric water-vapour content.

  • Multi-temporal monitoring

    Use of time series of satellite images from 1981 to the present to study the Earth's surface dynamics.

Management
  • SOBRINO RODRIGUEZ, JOSE ANTONIO
  • PDI-Catedratic/a d'Universitat
View details
 Contactejose.sobrino@uv.es
Scientific production by UV researcher
  • SOBRINO RODRIGUEZ, JOSE ANTONIO
    PDI-Catedratic/a d'Universitat
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CNAE

Associated structure
Image Processing Laboratory (IPL)

http://ipl.uv.es

Contact group details
Global Change Unit (UCG)

Burjassot/Paterna Campus

C/ Dr. Moliner,50

46100 Burjassot (Valencia)

+34 963 543 115

Geolocation

www.uv.es/ucg

jose.sobrino@uv.es

Contact people
  • SOBRINO RODRIGUEZ, JOSE ANTONIO
  • PDI-Catedratic/a d'Universitat
View details
 Contactejose.sobrino@uv.es