RESEARCH THEMES
01.
Producing high-level
remote sensing products
Our team uses diverse satellite data to produce a range of high-level remote sensing products that can be readily leveraged for further research. These products include leaf area index (LAI), surface longwave radiation (LWR), poverty index, and paddy rice irrigation mapping. With their high resolution and accuracy, these products are valuable tools for exploring environmental and social issues in greater depth.
02.
Addressing social & environmental issues
We utilize remote sensing techniques to extract information from earth observations and convert them into datasets that can help address a wide range of social and environmental issues. These include reducing hunger, estimating poverty levels, assessing the impact of climate change, and much more.
Here are some examples of the issues we are currently working on:
Developing an agricultural monitoring and crop yield prediction system over Asia
In 2021, over 425 million people affected by hunger were in Asia, which accounts for more than half of the world's total. Remote sensing technology can provide detailed and up-to-date agricultural monitoring, which can be used to inform policy-making. Dr Yongzhe Chen is currently working on creating remote-sensing-based maps of paddy rice cultivation and irrigation to improve our understanding and management of this type of agriculture.
Mapping the poverty level from satellite data and other information
More than one-third of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets cannot be assessed due to a lack of administrative data, particularly in developing countries regarding poverty-related targets. To address this issue, Mr Yongqian Ren is working on producing a global, fine-scale poverty map using satellite and other socio-economic data to better understand poverty patterns around the world.
Investigating Earth’s energy budget to explore climate change impacts
Understanding the Earth's energy budget is critical when addressing climate change and human impacts on the environment. To achieve this, Dr Jianglei Xu is currently working on generating and analyzing Earth's surface longwave radiation maps to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the global energy balance.
03.
Establishing a social and
environmental data center at HKU
We are in the process of establishing an Asia Social and Environmental Data Center to create a comprehensive management system for geographic and remote sensing databases.
The center aims to serve a wider range of research and public groups by providing free, consistent, and comprehensive access to geographic data.
