Speakers

Bede Ffinian Rowe Davies
Nantes Université

Post-doctoral Reseacher at the Nantes Université using satellite remote sensing to map and monitor intertidal habitats. Currently working on harmonised methodologies to accurately and FAIRly map the entire intertidal area of Europe, but more generally focused on using the most appropriate techniques and analyses to assess human impacts on natural systems. This has ranged from assessing the effects of Marine Protected Areas over time in relation to fisheries to building and developing the open access neural network model: Interitdal Classification of Europe: Categorising Reflectance of Emerged Areas of Marine vegetation with Sentinel-2 (ICE CREAMS).

Chuanmin Hu
University of South Florida, Florida, USA

Chuanmin Hu is Professor of Oceanography at the College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, Florida, USA. He obtained a PhD degree in physics from the University of Miami (USA). He specializes in using laboratory, field, and remote sensing techniques to study algal blooms (harmful and non-harmful, macroalgae and microalgae), oil spills, coastal and inland water quality, and global changes. He directs the USF Optical Oceanography Lab to establish several ocean observing systems, including the Sargassum Watch System (SaWS) to combine remote sensing and numerical modeling to track macroalgae. He is an elected fellow of Optica and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Dimitris Poursanidis
Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

Dimitris Poursanidis, Ph.D., is a  marine scientist and earth observation analyst committed to unraveling the mysteries of our seascapes. With a wealth of expertise in marine ecology and biodiversity, he has dedicated his career to understanding the delicate balance of marine ecosystems and the impacts of human activities. Driven by a passion for conservation, Dimitris explores the intricate relationships between marine organisms and their environment, striving to protect biodiversity and promote sustainable practices. One of Dimitris’s notable contributions lies in his pioneering work with seagrass ecosystems, utilizing cutting-edge technologies such as satellites and drones. Through remote sensing techniques, he harnesses the power of satellite imagery to monitor the health and distribution of seagrass meadows on a large scale, providing valuable insights into their dynamics and resilience to environmental stressors.

Elizabeth Lawrence
UNESCO / IOC Project Office for IODE, Ocean Biodiversity Information System

Elizabeth Lawrence is the Capacity Development Officer for the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS) and the Horizon Europe project, BioEcoOcean. Within BioEcoOcean, her role extends from capacity development to also include data management, including developing tools and applications to facilitate management of data and metadata. In OBIS, she is responsible for creating, maintaining, and updating OBIS training materials, including the OBIS Manual, OBIS/OTGA training course(s), and How-To videos on data formatting and controlled vocabulary for the OBIS YouTube channel.

Lina Mtwana-Nordlund
Uppsala University, Sweden

Dr. Lina Mtwana-Nordlund is an Associate Professor in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development at Uppsala University, Sweden, specializing in coastal sustainability. As the Project Coordinator for BioEcoOcean, a Horizon Europe-funded initiative, she focuses on co-creating transformative pathways for biological and ecosystem ocean observations.

Her research takes a transdisciplinary approach, emphasizing social-ecological systems and futures thinking, with a particular focus on seagrass ecosystems, fisheries, ecosystem services, and management strategies. Dr. Lina Mtwana-Nordlund is an expert member of the Biology & Ecosystems panel of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), IOC-UNESCO , and co-leads the Seagrass Essential Ocean Variable. She also contributes to the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) as a member of Vision 2030 Working Group 2: Protect and Restore Ecosystems and Biodiversity. Additionally, she is a co-author of the World Ocean Assessment III.

Mar Roca Mora
Spanish National Research Council (ICMAN-CSIC)

PhD candidate at the Institute of Marine Sciences of Andalusia within the Spanish National Research Council (ICMAN-CSIC) using cloud computing and satellite remote sensing to map and monitor marine macrophytes. Currently working on two research lines: first, developing subtidal seagrass mapping methodologies both for stable seagrass species and impacted meadows in clear and turbid waters using Sentinel-2 and PlanetScope satellites; and second, integrating field radiometry with remote sensing data to improve beached invasive macroalgae detection in southern Europe, helping to quantify and better manage the biomass. These methods are all developed inside the Google Earth Engine cloud computing platform to enable scalability.

Moderator

André Valente
AIR Centre – Atlantic International Research Centre

André Valente has a Degree in Meteorology and Physical Oceanography from the University of Lisbon (Portugal), a postgraduation in Ocean Remote Sensing from the University of Southampton (UK) and a PhD in Environmental Sciences from the University of Azores (Portugal). He previously worked as a post-doc researcher at the University of Lisbon and the MARE Centre. Since he joined the AIR Centre he has worked on various national and international projects and initiatives related to Earth Observation. He specializes in the integration of satellite, model and in-situ oceanographic data, and development of remote sensing methods, for different types of applications and open-ocean and coastal studies, in the fields of ocean colour, physical oceanography, ocean climate variability, physical-biological interactions in the ocean and marine plastic pollution.

We will continue with the Networking Fridays during the next months. More information about future sessions as well as presentations and videos from previous sessions can be found here. Please do not forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel.  Twitter Hashtag: #netfridays. Expect some very exciting mornings, afternoons or evenings, depending on where you are…

If you need any additional information please send an email to Catarina Duarte.