CNIC: US-India Collaborative Research Linking Remote Sensing, Citizen Science, and Robotics to Address Critical Environmental Problems in Data Sparse Regions

CNIC：美印合作研究将遥感、公民科学和机器人技术联系起来，解决数据稀疏地区的关键环境问题

• 批准号: 1427420
• 负责人: Joshua Peschel
• 金额: $ 3.46万
• 依托单位: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-12-01 至 2015-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1427420&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CNIC; US; India; Collaborative; Research

Technical description Despite several decades of calls for improved international data sharing and environmental observations, measurements of critical environmental data remain unavailable in many parts of the world, especially in developing nations due to the lack of data collection, quality control, and bureaucratic obstacles. Reliable local environmental data are essential for identifying environmental trends and formulating appropriate policy responses. This proposal focuses on a synthesis of traditional and emerging observation techniques to address data scarcity in the Arkavathy Watershed, Karnataka as a case study. This is a new international collaboration among the University of California, Berkeley (UBC), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE), Bangalore to generate novel environmental data collection techniques for application in data scarce regions. It will bring together researchers with expertise in environmental science in India, robotics and remote sensing to pilot an observation system linking field measurements, robotics and satellite remote sensing. There will also be a workshop at ATREE to formulate next steps including conceptualizing future proposals for submission to Indian funding agencies and to NSF?s Geospatial Sciences and Robotics programs. The intellectual merit of this proposal lies in the development of data collection and synthesisapproaches that address fundamental environmental data gaps within the context of developing nations. It will evaluate the feasibility of achieving three key design goals for novel data collection systems: spatial and temporal extension of observations, low cost reproducible measurements, and ensuring researcher safety. It will identify key methodological challenges associated with fusion of multiple data types for consistent interpretation of environmental observations, as well as specific challenges associated with independent methods. It will provide cross-fertilization of research expertise across groups in three institutions: hydrology and remote sensing at UBC, low-cost sensors and mobile sensor platforms at UIUC, and water sustainability, citizen science and development projects at ATREE. Broader description By building on existing research foci held by ATREE, UIUC and UCB, the researchers will ensure that the initial collection of pilot data is linked to larger project goals, and to policy formation in south India. They will work with ATREE to ensure that collected data are shared through their project portal and the India Water Data Portal. The proposed collaborative research will directly support two PhD students by offering them the opportunity to develop meaningful working relationships with international partners and contribute to their doctoral research. The proposed research will also support the research goals of four junior faculty: three in the United States and one in India.

技术描述尽管几十年来要求改进国际数据共享和环境观察结果，但在世界许多地方，关键环境数据的测量仍然无法使用，尤其是由于缺乏数据收集，质量控制和官僚障碍，在发展中的国家中。可靠的本地环境数据对于确定环境趋势和制定适当的政策响应至关重要。该提案着重于传统和新兴观察技术的综合，以解决卡纳塔克邦Arkavathy流域中的数据稀缺性。这是加利福尼亚大学伯克利分校（UBC），伊利诺伊大学Urbana-Champaign（UIUC）和班加罗尔的Ashoka生态与环境研究（ATREE）的Ashoka Ashoka Trust，以生成新颖的环境数据收集技术在数据稀缺区域中生成新颖的环境数据收集技术。它将在印度具有环境科学，机器人技术和遥感的环境科学专业知识的研究人员聚集在一起，以试行一个连接现场测量，机器人技术和卫星遥感的观察系统。 ATREE还将举办一个研讨会，以制定下一步的步骤，包括概念化未来提交给印度资助机构以及NSF的地理空间科学和机器人计划的建议。该提案的智力优点在于开发数据收集和综合问题，这些问题解决了发展中国家的基本环境数据差距。它将评估实现新型数据收集系统的三个关键设计目标的可行性：观测值的空间和时间扩展，低成本可重现的测量以及确保研究人员的安全。它将确定与多种数据类型融合相关的关键方法论挑战，以一致地解释环境观察以及与独立方法相关的特定挑战。它将在三个机构的群体中提供研究专业知识：UBC的水文和遥感，UIUC的低成本传感器和移动传感器平台，以及ATREE的水可持续性，公民科学与发展项目。通过基于ATREE，UIUC和UCB持有的现有研究重点的更广泛描述，研究人员将确保初步收集飞行员数据与更大的项目目标以及南印度的政策形成有关。他们将与ATREE合作，以确保通过其项目门户和印度水数据门户共享收集的数据。拟议的合作研究将通过为他们提供与国际合作伙伴建立有意义的工作关系并为他们的博士研究做出贡献的机会，直接为两名博士学位学生提供支持。拟议的研究还将支持四个初级教师的研究目标：美国三个，在印度一个。