Describe your professional and/or personal experience relating to water and space technologies.
I have been working at ABAE for 13 years, carrying out activities such as: research using satellite data through processing and analysis associated with physical properties measured by satellites, like soil moisture, process management and analysis related with image processing and value added products from the Typical Application Subsystem (TAS) of Venezuelan Remote Sensing Satellites (VRSS1/2) especially focused on multitemporal changes in water bodies.
Can you tell us about your current position as the Space Application Director of the Bolivarian Agency for Space Activities (ABAE)?
My position is about management. I work on spatial activities related to Ground Applications System (GAS) of the Venezuelan Remote Sensing Satellites (VRSS-1/2). My work ensures that the subsystems (OMS, IPS, DMS, PSS, TAS) and products developed satisfy the requirements of end users, checking the mission plans priorities, image processing quality and typical applications, like vegetation indexes (NVDI, EVI), aerosol optical depth, water extraction, chlorophyll-a for the production of value-added products.
What is your proudest professional moment or which project made you most satisfied to contribute to?
My participation in the final part of the VRSS-2 project, in the review of the Ground Applications System (GAS), specifically the Typical Application Subsystem (TAS), as part of the team-joint work with the Chinese counterpart. I had the opportunity to know and learn about the platform and its integration into the ground system. Additionally, it represented a milestone in Venezuelan space history.
What are the most pressing water issues faced by Venezuela?
Venezuela is facing a water crisis, primarily due to the decreased access to drinking water for a large portion of the population, driven by various factors such as:
- Climate variability, with prolonged droughts exacerbating the shortage.
- Increased sedimentation and erosion in some of the main water reservoirs.
- Increased agricultural activities in the watersheds and the demand for irrigation.
- Cases of deforestation in some watersheds.
What role do space technologies play in monitoring hydrographic basins and changes in land cover?
Space technology plays an important role in watershed monitoring. It already allows for the collection of data (images) with a certain frequency, allowing for the determination of changes in coverage, like loss of vegetation, increase in agricultural activities, increase in urban growth, increase in mining activities, etc, greatly reducing the number of field trips and minimising costs, as the areas of interest are addressed.
Can you tell us more about your involvement in the ground applications system for VRSS-2, a Venezuelan remote sensing satellite?
I am in charge of managing the daily activities of the various subsystems that make up the Ground Applications System, from the review of mission plans for VRSS-2 imaging to the transmission of data from the satellite ground control station, the processing chain and delivery of end-user requests. For example, if the Ministry of Water requests images from us, we respond to the request based on the availability of the images in the catalog or we plan the mission to take new images of the area of interest if necessary. Likewise, we can make value-added products according to the need.
How do you use satellite image processing for water-related projects at the agency?
At the agency we have a software developed by the Chinese counterpart that has a water module, in which information can be extracted, such as, chlorophyll-a, delimitation of water bodies, eutrophication, among others. To obtain and validate the information, it is necessary to go to the field. We collaborate with other institutions in projects such as the validation of satellite images of the VRSS-2 in the eastern region of Venezuela, the location of sperm whales or cachalots using VRSS-2 satellite images, study about variation of the size of priority water reservoirs in the country.
Can you tell us more about your research on soil moisture from Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) observations and training neural networks using in situ measurements? What were the main findings?
The in situ data are measurements of the Soil Moisture (SM) content in the 0-5 cm depth layer from the SCAN, SNOTEL and USCRN networks. The Neural Network retrieval (NNinSitu) is evaluated against in situ data not used during the training phase and against maps of the SMOS level 3 SM product and ECMWF SM models. NNinSitu SM values are closer to ECMWF values for wet areas.
In spite of the sparse nature of in situ measurements of SM, the results showed that it is possible to retrieve SM at continental scale in North America using a data-driven statistical algorithm. Further validation is necessary but the first results showed that using in situ measurements could improve the retrievals in some regions/conditions. For many sites, the NN manages to find a good non-linear mapping from SMOS brightness temperatures to the in situ measurements. In contrast, there are sites for which the NN does not provide a good estimation of the in situ measurements.
What role do geographic information systems (GIS) play in your organisation’s work? What related techniques and skills are necessary?
GIS plays a very important role in management, as it allows us to display and organise all vector information, as well as its accompanying attributes.
It allows us to understand and analyse our surroundings from a spatial perspective. Its importance lies in its ability to integrate, analyse, and visualise geographic data, which facilitates decision-making.
The necessary skills required are: fundamental knowledge in geography, cartography, databases, spatial analysis, remote sensing, ability to solve problems using geographic data and teamwork.
How well, in your view, are space-based technology and data used by the various stakeholder groups to address water issues in Venezuela?
In my opinion various stakeholder groups in Venezuela utilise space-based technology and data to address water issues at different levels of knowledge depending on the functions they perform, sectors involved like government, the Ministry of Water and INAMEH (National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology) uses space-based data from satellites like Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite(GOES) and Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE) to monitor tropical waves, cyclones, and other weather patterns relevant to water resources and potential hazards like floods. From Academia, universities and research institutions, such as the University of Los Andes, are involved in monitoring environmental stations using satellite data to understand ecosystem vulnerability related to water. Civil Society (NGOs): Organisations like Wataniba and Provita, members of the Amazonian Network for Georeferenced Socio-Environmental Information (RAISG), utilise satellite images to monitor vegetation cover and land use changes that can impact water resources, particularly in sensitive regions like the Amazon.
Where do you see capacity-building gaps of the Venezuelan workforce, especially in governmental institutions in the country?
Capacity building gaps may exist in the depth and breadth of expertise in areas like: advance remote sensing data processing and analysis, geospatial data management and infrastructure, and related IT engineering disciplines. Data integration of governmental systems and decision-making processes might face capacity limitations.
However, Venezuela's space policy already emphasises capacity building, human training, and international cooperation as key solutions.
What advice would you give to young professionals looking for a career in space technology?
- Build a strong educational foundation focused on basic and applied sciences.
- Gain practical experience, like internship opportunities, involvement in university projects.
- Develop key skills beyond technical expertise, like clear communication, team work and collaboration, project management, decision making.
- Network and engage with the space community
What do you need to innovate?
To innovate, I need greater knowledge in the use or processing of spatial data, perhaps implementing artificial intelligence algorithms to improve results.
What is your favourite aggregate state of water?
I would say that liquid water because it is the most dynamic and essential for life.
