Michael McElligott’s Post

A thought experiment Condensed #Europa Integrating bioluminescence into the infrastructural framework of potential settlements on Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, offers a multifaceted approach to address both the environmental and psychological challenges posed by extraterrestrial habitation. Given the reduced solar input on Europa due to its distance from the Sun, traditional solar energy harvesting is less feasible. Bioluminescence could serve as an alternative, low-energy-demand lighting solution, crucial for long-term energy conservation in off-Earth habitats. This approach could be particularly beneficial for interior lighting in living + working areas, where maintaining human circadian rhythms is essential for health and productivity. The potential use of bioluminescent organisms in agricultural modules on Europa could revolutionize food production systems. Specific wavelengths emitted by bioluminescent organisms might stimulate photosynthesis, enhancing crop yields in controlled agricultural environments. This application would require rigorous agronomic studies to optimize light spectra for various crop species, aligning with research in photobiology and agronomy. The implementation of bioluminescent features could also play a significant role in ecological engineering + habitat design on Europa, providing both functional lighting + enhancing the psychological well-being of residents. The concept of 'biophilic design'—incorporating elements of nature into built environments—could be adapted to extraterrestrial habitats, utilizing bioluminescence to create a semblance of Earth-like natural environments. This would be particularly relevant in addressing issues of confinement & isolation, which are psychological stressors in space travel. Bioluminescent organisms could be engineered to serve as bioindicators for monitoring environmental health within habitats. This application could extend to detecting airborne pathogens, changes in water quality, or exposure to hazardous conditions. Bioluminescent markers could be invaluable in biological & ecological research, allowing scientists to visualize and track biological processes in real-time without invasive techniques. Subsurface ocean, bioluminescent organisms could be employed as tools for underwater exploration + research. Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) equipped with bioluminescent lighting could explore the Europan ocean with minimal disturbance to potential native ecosystems, consideration in planetary protection protocols. Bioluminescent systems to the harsh conditions of Europa present significant biological & engineering challenges. These include the genetic engineering of organisms to enhance their survival and functional efficiency in low-temperature, high-radiation environments typical of outer space settings. Long-term sustainability & ecological impacts of introducing biologically active systems into closed-space environments must be rigorously evaluated. #NASA

We’re thrilled to announce that five projects will use the potential of digital twinning technology to transform environmental science. The digital twin pilot projects will share £2.8 million in funding delivered by us, in partnership with the Met Office, as part of the Twinning Capability for the Natural Environment (TWINE) programme. A digital twin is a dynamic virtual copy of a physical asset, process, system or environment that looks like and behaves in real time identically to its real-world partner. Actions and events can be modelled with unprecedented accuracy, offering the ability to experiment in a non-live environment of the real world. The five digital twin pilot projects, which will last a maximum duration of 15 months, will show how research using Earth Observation data and emerging digital twinning technologies can transform environmental science across priority areas including climate change, biodiversity and ecosystems, and natural hazards. ➡️ Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML)'s project focuses on coastal ocean ecosystems for assimilation to marine system models ➡️ National Oceanography Centre will be working on research optimising ocean glider observations to maximise their impact on ocean models. ➡️A project by National Centre for Atmospheric Science and University of Cambridge will focus on improving the operational flights of a research aircraft. ➡️Researchers at University of Hull have been awarded funding for work on water-related hazard forecasting and decision-making for Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire. ➡️ University of Plymouth’s project will create a digital twin of a wave overtopping in order to build a deployable coastal warning tool that predicts wave hazards. The TWINE programme is part of a £200 million portfolio of 17 Earth Observation Investment Package (EOIP) projects which were announced in November 2022.

We are thrilled to announce that Geoneon is partnering with the University of Tasmania on a groundbreaking project funded by the Australian Research Council: Urban Greening to Protect Vulnerable People and Promote Thermal Equity. This ambitious initiative, running from 1 Jan 2023 to 31 Dec 2027, aims to create, test, and apply new knowledge to enhance thermal equity in Australian cities. With climate change escalating heatwave frequency and intensity, and urban areas growing denser, our collaboration seeks to protect vulnerable populations through innovative green infrastructure solutions. Geoneon's participation in this project is marked by our latest Geoneon Vegetation Mapping product. This state-of-the-art solution employs cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence alongside High-Resolution Satellite Imagery to deliver unmatched accuracy and detail in vegetation mapping globally. Designed to overcome the limitations of traditional vegetation monitoring methods, our tool offers scalable, accessible, and consistent vegetation data. 💡Chief Investigator: Jason Byrne  💡Post Doctoral Researcher: Pooja Shah, Ph.D.  🎯Project Total: $1,960,887 The project will result in a heat vulnerability assessment index, urban tree canopy maps, urban planning policy guidelines, and a toolkit for green infrastructure treatments. The ultimate goal? To reduce heat-related deaths and enhance the liveability of cities across Australia. Stay tuned as we embark on this journey towards a cooler, greener, and more equitable urban future! #Heatwave #UrbanGreening #ClimateChange #Innovation #ArtificialIntelligence #EarthObservation 

The aim of “EU place-based Research and Innovation ecosystems. Mapping case studies of knowledge ecosystems across European regions” is to provide a census of existing European knowledge ecosystems starting from the countries and regions involved in the ERA_FABRIC project. #EuropeanResearchArea #ERAHubs #innovation #ecosystem

Let's make space exploration a synonym for terrestrial sustainable development! From ancient agricultural civilizations to current modern societies, plants always played a very important role in the prosperity and abundance of humanity. Personally, I cannot imagine the future of human beings without these pivotal living organisms. From the production of fresh food to carbon capture, oxygen generation, and promoting mental well-being, either by therapeutic products or simply human-plant interaction, plants will be there. At the same time, we can also envision the positive impact that plants, and their sustainable cultivation methods and technologies, have for us to reach important sustainable goals, such as zero hunger, good health, quality education, reduced inequalities, economic growth, clean water, improved life on land, and last, but not least, Climate change. All of this won't be different in the long-term sustainable establishment process of humans in future space coloniesIn a recent article on Agritecture's blog, I was able to present and discuss an interesting initiative called #SaveOurPlanet, led by Dr. Andreas Losch, MBA, which proposes the Space Environment as an 18th Sustainable Development Goal. Here is an excerpt from the article (check below), in which I discussed how #SpaceFarming can become an important tool for sustainable development, both on Earth and in space: "By harnessing the power of innovative farming solutions, we pave the way for a future where humanity thrives not only on Earth but across the vast reaches of space. From the plant growth experiments in space to the most advanced space farming technologies at the ISS, we can realize that validating and fine-tuning CEA technologies is a mere preparatory step for long-term interplanetary sustainability, but an important one for terrestrial sustainability." Check the full version at: https://lnkd.in/dQcUGns5

https://lnkd.in/dnHrJHHs ´´Humanity has been operating on a scarcity mindset for centuries, and it's brought us to the brink of ecological collapse. But what if we flipped the script?´´ ´´Stuart outlined how BFI's Design Lab’s work to actualize Fuller's vision in the modern context. Key focus areas include: Resilience and Regeneration, Indigenous Knowledge Integration, Planetary Regeneration Alliance, Planetary Civics´´

🌍 Celebrating International Geo Coaching Day: Empowering a Sustainable Future with GIS 🌍 Today, on International Geo Coaching Day, we recognize the incredible power of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in shaping sustainable solutions for our planet. From mapping climate change impacts to optimizing resource management, GIS technology is driving innovative ways to address global environmental challenges. It allows us to visualize data in ways that reveal patterns, forecast scenarios, and inform strategic decision-making for sustainable development. As we look to the future, GIS will continue to be a crucial tool in: 1. Biodiversity Conservation: Mapping ecosystems to protect endangered species and preserve habitats. 2. Urban Planning: Building smarter cities with efficient infrastructure, minimizing carbon footprints. 3. Agricultural Sustainability: Enhancing precision farming to reduce waste and maximize yield. 4. Renewable Energy: Identifying optimal locations for solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources. On this special day, let's appreciate the power of GIS and geospatial data as we navigate the path towards a more sustainable, resilient world. 🌍💡 #InternationalGeoCoachingDay #GISForGood #Sustainability #FutureOfGIS #SustainableDevelopment #GeoTech #InnovationInGIS

I'm very excited to announce that our latest paper has been published in the Remote Sensing MDPI Journal. In this paper we discuss the potential of RS for urban tree monitoring and management. We test the application of the pansharpening technique on PRISMA hyperspectral data. We found a high improvement of the classification results compared to the classification of the original spatial resolution data.    Thanks to all the authors: Gabriele Delogu, Cassandra Funsten , Alessio Patriarca, Eros Caputi, Lorenzo Boccia   Special thanks to Dott. Antonio Pepe for providing the ground truth database.    Here is the paper abstract:  Urban trees support vital ecological functions and help with the mitigation of and adaption to climate change. Yet, their monitoring and management require significant public resources. remote sensing could facilitate these tasks. Recent hyperspectral satellite programs such as PRISMA have enabled more advanced remote sensing applications, such as species classification. However, PRISMA data’s spatial resolution (30 m) could limit its utility in urban areas. Improving hyperspectral data resolution with pansharpening using the PRISMA coregistered panchromatic band (spatial resolution of 5 m) could solve this problem. This study addresses the need to improve hyperspectral data resolution and tests the pansharpening method by classifying exemplative urban tree species in Naples (Italy) using a convolutional neural network and a ground truths dataset, with the aim of comparing results from the original 30 m data to data refined to a 5 m resolution. An evaluation of accuracy metrics shows that pansharpening improves classification quality in dense urban areas with complex topography. In fact, pansharpened data led to significantly higher accuracy for all the examined species. Specifically, the Pinus pinea and Tilia x europaea classes showed an increase of 10% to 20% in their F1 scores. Pansharpening is seen as a practical solution to enhance PRISMA data usability in urban environments. https://lnkd.in/dwc2nYXv #PRISMA #hyperspectraldata #pansharpening #dataenhancement #spatialresolution #geospatialanalysis #urbantreeclassification #biodiversitymonitoring

Exciting developments from the 2024 Smart Ideas funding round! The New Zealand Product Accelerator continues to fuel success, with several cutting-edge research projects funded through Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE’s) Smart Ideas initiative. Two key projects, where the New Zealand Product Accelerator played a crucial role, have each been awarded~$1M each, showcasing innovation, sustainability, and international collaboration: 1. Extracting value from an invasive seaweed using applied ecophysiology and green solvents Principal Investigator: Chris Hepburn Hepburn ( University of Otago) This project transforms environmental challenges into opportunities by utilizing invasive seaweed through eco-friendly processes. The project has strong industry connections and international partnerships, maximizing its potential impact on both a local and global scale. 2. Self-sensing, low-carbon 3D-printed homes from locally sourced waste materials Principal Investigator: KRISHANU ROY (The University of Waikato) Focused on housing innovation, this project leverages international expertise and industry partnerships to create affordable, low-carbon, 3D-printed homes from waste materials that can monitor their own structural integrity—pioneering a new era of smart, sustainable construction. These projects highlight the New Zealand Product Accelerator's critical role in connecting universities like University of Otago, The University of Waikato, and The University of Auckland with both local and global industry players, helping secure essential Smart Ideas funding. Through collaboration with international experts and industry leaders, we’re accelerating world-class research that addresses global challenges and drives economic growth. MBIE Science and Innovation https://lnkd.in/g4HKznsQ #SmartIdeas2024 #ResearchInnovation #Sustainability #ProductAccelerator #UniversityCollaboration #IndustryPartnerships #InternationalCollaboration #ResearchGrants #GlobalImpact

GETEC becomes GETIC! Read a word from Giacomo Parrinello, Scientific Director of the Master Governing Ecological Transitions in Cities - GETIC.