Geospatial Systems -

Hope Irvine-Wall

Biography

About

My PhD focuses on using image recognition algorithms to detect heritage in the MENA (Middle East/ North Africa) region. There is a particular emphasis on historic water management systems such as canals and their source paleochannels. These features represent historic multi-period sustainable irrigation systems. Their study can not only reveal more about vulnerable heritage in the region, but can also inform policy about how to keep agriculture sustainable in response to climate change. This is particularly important in arid regions where agriculture is solely reliant on irrigation systems and there is a movement towards unsustainable electric and diesel pumps that are lowering the ground water table. I am aiming to use a multi-modal approach which includes both optical and radar data to detect these features.

 

My MRes in Geospatial data science examined traditional canal irrigation systems and their landscape by using spatial statistical techniques. The project mapped and classified historic canals and found that that traditional field systems experience vegetation declines more intensely than their wider landscape. My dissertation for my BSc in Archaeology used remote sensing and spatial analysis to map and analyse funerary monuments in Southern Morocco and their relationship to ancient landscapes.

 

I was successful in winning a competitive grant application to be part of a climate research scholarship programme, where I used the declassified spy satellite footage HEXAGON to detect desertification in Southern Morocco. I presented the poster and a presentation for this work at the “Celebrating Climate Leadership Scholarship and Exhibitions” conference in 2022. (See here for the poster and here for the presentation. This lead to me becoming a co-author on a paper in Nature Scientific Reports entitled “Detecting Desertification in the Ancient Oases of Southern Morocco”. This paper used machine learning algorithms to detect desertification in Southern Morocco.

 

I am currently a research associate on the Vanishing Landscapes project, which uses remote sensing such as SAR and HEXAGON to detect the impact of climate change in Iraq. I was also part of the National Innovation Centre for Data’s Data Bootcamp, where I worked with real world data to understand how data can be utilised for business goals.

 

My academia page : https://independent.academia.edu/HopeIrvine1