I'm delighted to report that I have been awarded a Microsoft and National Geographic AI for Earth Innovation Grant! With over a billion people relying on glaciers for freshwater for drinking, irrigating crops and hydropower, and Arctic ice dynamics influencing global weather and exacerbating natural hazards over major population centres, melting glaciers affect us all. … Continue reading AI for Earth
Category: Science/Tech
General science and tech tutorials, reviews and essays
Machine Learning: An unexplored horizon for Polar science
I recently published an article in Open Access Government about the potential for machine learning technologies to revolutionise Polar science, with focus on optical remote sensing data from drones and satellites. You can read it online or download it from OAGov_Oct18
Bio-co-albedo?
At EGU I had the pleasure of talking about BioSNICAR and biological albedo reduction with two of the big-names in albedo research. A very interesting point they raised was that the term ‘bioalbedo’ does not precisely describe the concept that it is attached to. This is true. The term bioalbedo was not coined by spectroscopy … Continue reading Bio-co-albedo?
ASD spectra processing with Linux & Python
I’m sharing my workflow for processing and analysing spectra obtained using the ASD Field Spec Pro, partly as a resource and partly to see whether others have refinements or suggestions for improving the protocols. I'm specifically using Python rather than any proprietary software to keep it all open source, transparent and to keep control over … Continue reading ASD spectra processing with Linux & Python
CASPA at EGU 2018
The EGU annual meeting in Vienna is one of the major events in the earth science calendar, where the latest ideas are aired and discussed and new collaborations forged. My talk this year was in the "Remote Sensing of the Cryosphere" session. Here's an overview: Albedo is a primary driver of snow melt. For clean … Continue reading CASPA at EGU 2018
Managing & Publishing Research Code
Several journals now request data and/or code to be made openly available in a permanent repository accessible via a digital object identifier (doi), which is - in my opinion - generally a really good thing. However, there are associated challenges. First, because the expectation that code and data are made openly available is quite new … Continue reading Managing & Publishing Research Code
Smartphone Spectrometry
The ubiquitous smartphone contains millions of times more computing power than was used to send the Apollo spacecraft to the moon. Increasingly, scientists are repurposing some of that processing power to create low-cost, convenient scientific instruments. In doing so, these measurements are edging closer to being feasible for citizen scientists and under-funded professionals, democratizing robust … Continue reading Smartphone Spectrometry
Lenovo T470p Ubuntu 16.04 Install notes
Here's some notes on installing Ubuntu alongside Windows on a fresh Lenovo t470p with Windows 10 preinstalled. It took a bit of trial and error for me so hopefully these notes will help someone trying to do the same. 1.Download Ubuntu ISO The Ubuntu ISO image for your system architecture is available here: https://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop. Download … Continue reading Lenovo T470p Ubuntu 16.04 Install notes
A smartphone-based UV spectrometer
In our new paper we report on some novel tech that uses the sensor in a smartphone for ultraviolet spectroscopy. It is low cost and based entirely on off-the-shelf components plus a 3-D printed case. The system was designed with volcanology in mind - specifically the detection of atmospheric sulphur dioxide, but may also have … Continue reading A smartphone-based UV spectrometer
Frontiers Paper: Albedo products from drones
A new paper, led by Johnny Ryan, shows that a consumer grade digital camera mounted to a drone can be used to estimate the albedo of ice surfaces with an accuracy of +/- 5%. This is important because albedo measurements are fundamental to predicting melt, but satellite albedo data is limited in its spatial and … Continue reading Frontiers Paper: Albedo products from drones
To The Poles 