I am coming towards the end of my third year as a PhD student with the SENSE Earth Observation CDT, a Centre for Doctoral Training which aims to produce the next generation of satellite data specialists. My project is funded by NERC and the UK Space Agency and is partnered with the British Antarctic Survey.
My background is in Environmental Science, having studied for an integrated master’s at the University of Leeds. I also completed a year abroad at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.
Master’s dissertation project: ‘Arctic Vegetation in a Warmer World: the Analogous Nature of the Pliocene’ (2020/21). This project involved analysing BIOME4 model outputs of the distribution and abundance of Arctic vegetation during the mid-Pliocene warm period, an interval of time in Earth’s history around 3.3 million years ago when the climate could be analogous to that currently being experienced today under greenhouse gas warming. The aim was to test if the distribution of Arctic vegetation during the mid-Pliocene climate could project the future of current Arctic vegetation by the year 2500, when projections of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations stabilise. This is important for understanding climate feedbacks which may help to amplify and/or dampen climate change.
PhD project: Remote sensing of Antarctic vegetation (2021-2025)
Context:
Ice-free areas make up around 0.2% – 0.5% of the Antarctica and contain almost all of Antarctica’s biodiversity, including terrestrial vegetation (lichens, mosses, algae and grasses). At the end of the twentieth century, the Antarctic Peninsula experienced one of the fastest rates of surface warming on Earth, a trend which is projected to continue over the next century. Expansion of ice-free terrain from ice and snow melt, coupled with changes in precipitation patterns, is predicted to alter the structure of Antarctica’s terrestrial ecosystem. Therefore, it is critical that we enhance our mapping and monitoring capabilities to quantify future change and assess impacts on the Antarctic biosphere. Remote sensing provides an efficient and non-invasive means of achieving this.
Aim:
1) Map terrestrial vegetation across the entire Antarctic continent using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and spectral indices. Use the resulting map to identify new areas of conservation interest.
2) Explore remote-sensed detection methods of moss ecophysiology using a combination of spectroscopy, PAM and environmental data.
Qualifications:
GVC drone pilot licence.
Supervisory team:
Dr Claudia Colesie (senior lecturer in plant physiology, UoE), Dr Andrew Gray (remote sensing specialist, NINA), Prof Peter Convey (terrestrial ecologist, British Antarctic Survey), Dr Kevin Newsham (terrestrial ecologist, British Antarctic Survey).
Contact:
Email: Charlotte.Walshaw@ed.ac.uk
Nature Geoscience ‘Behind the Paper’: The frosty flora of Antarctica | Research Communities by Springer Nature
Cryptogamiacs research group: Cryptogamiacs – A seriously cool page about cryptogams (ed.ac.uk)
