University of Stirling

The University of Stirling was founded by Royal Charter in 1967 as the first genuinely new university in Scotland for over 400 years and embraces its role as an innovative, intellectual and cultural institution. A research-led university with an international reputation for high-quality research directly relevant to society’s needs, Stirling aims to be at the forefront of research and learning that helps to improve lives. The University works closely with its stakeholders in policy, practice and industry to facilitate this and enhance the relevance and impact of its research. The international excellence of the University’s research was recognised in the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014), where Stirling enhanced its position as a top UK research-led university.

The University of Stirling's Earth and Planetary Observation Research Group exploit the latest generation of satellite, airborne and in-situ sensor and software technologies and, where necessary, develop novel technologies and approaches to deliver new understandings of the Earth system and its responses to environmental stressors as well as other planetary systems.

The research group specialises in the use of airborne and satellite data for the assessment and monitoring of ecosystem responses to environmental change. It is the lead organisation on the €3M NERC-funded GloboLakes project (NE/J024279/1), which aims to develop an operational satellite-based system for lake monitoring globally. USTIR also lead the NERC INCIS-3IVE project on in-situ radiometry sensors and protocols for satellite validation and are PIs in the EC FP7 INFORM and DANCERS projects on the remote sensing of inland and transitional waters. Airborne remote sensing is also being used in an UK EPSRC (EP/I035390/1) funded project to assess the stability of saltmarshes and intertidal sediments in estuaries to climate change, specifically in relation to the adaptation & resilience of the UK energy to climate change. USTIR also lead a UK Royal Society project and an EC EUFAR project on remote sensing of algal blooms in lakes. The team are also leading the UK’s contribution to the new ESFRI initiative DANUBIUS-RI.

The research group collaborates and co-develops with engineers, ecologists, statisticians and social scientists within SMEs, industry, statutory agencies and research institutions to model, predict and manage ecosystem change, and deliver data-driven solutions for pressing societal and global challenges including the Sustainable Development Goals (e.g., SDG 6, 12 & 13). We also employ a range of remote sensing technologies from polarimetric and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (SAR), through light detection and ranging (LiDAR), to optical and gamma-ray spectrometry for a range of applications and delivering solutions across sectors and communities around the world. We are also pioneering in bringing together Earth observation, in-situ sensors, artificial intelligence (AI) and modelling to deliver the Forth Environmental Resilience Array - Living Laboratory (Forth-ERA).