Research Interests:

 

+++ 08/2023 News: New Podcast episode +++

In the podcast "Inside Copernicus - Europas Blick auf die Erde" we are interviewed in episode #10 Weniger ist Meer – Plastikverschmutzung der Ozeane and talk about remote sensing projects and methods that address the problem of plastic pollution.

 

Applied remote sensing, digital image processing and classification
Imaging spectroscopy
Spectroscopy of synthetic polymers
Geomatics and GIS
Remote sensing of vegetation, water and urban areas
Microplastic pollution of the environment

Career:

10/2002 - 12/2004

Research assistant for geoinformatics and remote sensing at the Institute of Environmental Sciences (IUW) and the Research Centre for Geoinformatics and Remote Sensing (FZG) - University of Vechta

01/2005 - 02/2010

PhD position at the Remote Sensing Section of GFZ Potsdam.

Since 03/2010

Postdoc/Research associate at different institutes including GFZ Potsdam, AWI Bremerhaven, Univ. of Bayreuth

Education:

1997 - 2002

Study of environmental sciences at the University of Vechta.

Diploma thesis: “Entwicklung und Vergleich verschiedener Algorithmen zur Klassifikation ausgewählter Versiegelungsarten in urbanen Gebieten aus hyperspektralen Scannerdaten”.

1999 - 2000

Study at the University of Vienna and the Technical University of Vienna in the context of the European exchange program SOKRATES / ERASMUS.

02/2010

PhD thesis „Automatisierungspotenzial von Stadtbiotopkartierungen durch Methoden der Fernerkundung“. https://repositorium.uni-osnabrueck.de/handle/urn:nbn:de:gbv:700-201006096323 Degree of „Dr. rer. nat.“ received from University of Osnabrück.

Projects:

HyPla: Development of automatic methods for the detection and differentiation of illegal dumps and plastic waste in the environment using hyperspectral satellite imagery and Deep Learning (BMWK, 01/2023-12/2024)

GEOINT4ENV: Geospatial Intelligence for Environment Protection Against Illegal Activities (EC, FPCUP, 12/2021-11/2023)

TRACE: Detection and tracking of large marine litter based on high-resolution remote sensing time series, machine learning, and ocean current modelling (ESA, Remote Sensing of Plastic Marine Litter Call, 08/2020-05/2022)

Ocean Scan: Linking marine litter ground truth and remote sensing data (ESA, Remote Sensing of Plastic Marine Litter Call, 06/2020-05/2022)

ENSURE - Development of New Plastic Materials for a Clean Environment and Detection of Entry Paths - ENSURE  (Plastik in der Umwelt, BMBF-FONA, 04/2018-09/2021)

PlaMoWa - ZIM network for plastic monitoring in surface waters (ZIM, BMWi, 2016-2018)

BASEMAN - Defining the baselines and standards for microplastics analyses in European waters (EC, 01/2016-12/2018)

EnMAP – Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program (BMWi)

Sentinels4marine plastic waste - Contamination of aquatic ecosystems with plastic debris: global and local monitoring using remote sensing methods (BMWi, completed)

FlexiHyp - Flexibilisierung hyperspektraler Fernerkundung durch Variation luftgebundener Plattformen: Funktionalität und Operation der AISA Unterflügelstation in verschiedenen Systemen (completed)

HGF-EOS – Helmholtz-PhD-program of the Helmholtz research network "Integrated Earth Observing System" (completed)

Awards:

Best Poster Award at the First Workshop of the EARSeL Special Interest Group on Urban Remote Sensing, 2-3 March 2006, Berlin, Germany
Top 4 of the best talks at the 7th EARSeL SIG-IS Workshop, 11-13 April 2011, Edinburgh, UK