Projects
1. Title: Agro-Hydro-Environmental Monitoring and Alert Unit
Overview: The working group that will contribute to and develop the tasks related to the Agro-Hydro-Environmental Monitoring and Alert Unit belongs to the Land Management Department and the Center for Territorial Studies (CET), both belonging to the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the National University of Rosario (UNR). The Rosario Institute of Agricultural Sciences Research (IICAR) of the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) operates in an integrated manner with the UNR. In this subproject, personnel from the Agricultural Climatology Department are joining this initiative, complementing the capabilities in terms of creating climate databases and running simulation models that serve as input for more advanced hydrological models. In this context, the UMAAHA proposal addresses the need to strengthen systems for capturing relevant environmental data, along with the development of systems and/or models that generate real-time information to respond to unforeseen events (early warning systems). These systems and models also serve to build and/or strengthen databases that allow for the identification of dynamic phenomena, which are assumed to be highly variable due to their high sensitivity to human impact. UMAAHA aims to dynamically collect precise environmental data and, based on this data, develop basic and applied information on the various climatic, meteorological, and agronomic components linked to hydraulic and hydrological dynamics. These components impact agricultural production systems, infrastructure, the environment, health, and the quality of life of society at the multiple scales at which these interactions occur. The fundamental pillars of this Unit involve the installation of an automated agrometeorological station and an automated agrohydrological station, along with data ingestion, georeferencing, and database management systems, and the editing and online publication of some of the generated information. Another component of the UMAAHA (Agro-Agrohydrological Unit) consists of sediment transport testing plots and precise geopositioning instruments to characterize and adjust land use in real time, in order to parameterize its impact on the zonal hydrological cycle. To this foundation, the aim is to add enhanced facilities for the pretreatment of environmental samples, along with the formation of a semi-permanent technical team ready to respond to situations in the field as needed. In recent times, there has been an increasing need for various state authorities and/or public and civil society institutions to turn to the Public University to resolve controversial situations related to the environment and the sustainability of certain human activities. This demand deserves to be addressed with appropriate operational structures.
2. Title: Dynamic survey of precise environmental data on climatic, meteorological and agronomic components.
Overview: Remote sensing is currently considered a reliable alternative for mapping and assessing burned areas, as it allows for systematic observation of the entire surface and provides spectral information sensitive to distinguishing between affected and unaffected areas. Similarly, in the period following a fire, and through multispectral analysis of the affected area, remote sensing can also provide precise information about vegetation recovery conditions. This is important for quantifying ecosystem resilience and/or the level of impact of the fire.
very abbreviated methodology
Optical satellite images of the highest spatial resolution available (eg SPOT, CBERS or PlanetScope) will then be used and will be used in parallel with geoprocessing of SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) images from the Sentinel 1 A/B satellite. The monitoring methodology will eventually be completed with validations carried out using high-resolution images captured by drones and in situ.
Related
Director : Sergio Montico
Co-Director: Néstor Di Leo
Members : José Berardi, Verónica Anibalini, Josefina Scaglione, Marina Santinelli, Julia Gastaudo, Federico Ascolani and Juliana Santi.
Academic Unit : Faculty of Agricultural Sciences (UNR)