Jasmeet

Space-born sensors provide global information for many valuable applications including agriculture and hydrology. New sensors and technological advances continue to improve spatial and temporal resolutions, further enhancing its value particularly in the understanding ofhow water interacts with soil and vegetation by using physical-based models. With remote sensing, larger areas of the landscape can be monitored, providing linkages among smaller, local scales to larger, regional and global scales. This seminar will include two research projects conductedat the Center for Remote Sensing of the University of Florida. The first, spatio-temporal scaling of microwave observations for soil moisture studies using artificial intelligence (AI). In this project, data-driven machine learning methods are used to merge data at microwave to obtain highresolution soil moisture in agricultural regions. In the second project, remote sensed optical observations are integrated with physics-guide machine learning for estimating in-season crop phenology.

Biography:

Jasmeet Judge specializes in microwave remote sensing. Her training in electrical engineering and in atmospheric, oceanic, and space sciences is complemented by skills in physics and computer science. The main goal of her research is to understand how water interacts with soil and vegetation by using both remote sensing and computer models, such as hydrologic and crop growth models. These models capture the current understanding of these interactions in mathematical formulations and predict the flow of water in the soil and crops through time. With remote sensing, larger areas of the landscape can be monitored, providing linkages among smaller, local scales to larger, regional and global scales.

Combining remote sensing observations and the models is Judge's approach to understanding water in the top meter of the soil called the root zone. The moisture in the root zone is vital to plant life and has an impact on weather and heat exchange between the land and the atmosphere. Her work takes a unique look at this layer of the earth's surface, relating the remotely sensed observations to water and temperature conditions at the land surface and upper layers of the soil.

Judge explains that microwave remote sensing is highly sensitive to changes in soil moisture and makes it possible to bridge the gap between small-scale studies at the field level and larger-scale studies at the regional and global scales. Also, microwaves can penetrate vegetation and give a more accurate picture of soil moisture than other wavelengths.

Of course, research does not stop with data.  Judge uses datasets to improve hydrologic and crop growth models. As complex as Judge's work can be, it is far from abstract. She focuses on basic research aimed at developing the best understanding and the best tools for understanding soil moisture, but she extends this research through collaborations with researchers whose main interest is the impact of soil moisture. These collaborators include agronomists, foresters, and climate researchers, who all need the very best reading on moisture and heat exchange that they can get. Judge collaborates on wetland models, forest growth models, crop models, and other land cover models.

Address:Orlando, United States