Spaceborne GNSS reflectometry for land remote sensing studies

Doctoral thesis (2023)

Understanding, quantifying and monitoring soil moisture is important for many applications, e.g., agriculture, weather forecasting, occurrence of heatwaves, droughts and floods, and human health. At a ... [more ▼]

Understanding, quantifying and monitoring soil moisture is important for many applications, e.g., agriculture, weather forecasting, occurrence of heatwaves, droughts and floods, and human health. At a large scale, satellite microwave remote sensing has been used to retrieve soil moisture information. Surface water has also been detected and monitored through remote sensing orbital platforms equipped with passive microwave, radar, and optical sensors. The use of reflected L-band Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals represents an emerging remote sensing concept to retrieve geophysical parameters. In GNSS Reflectometry (GNSS-R) these signals are repurposed to infer properties of the surface from which they reflect as they are sensitive to variations in biogeophysical parameters. NASA's Cyclone GNSS (CYGNSS) is the first mission fully dedicated to spaceborne GNSS-R. The eight-satellite constellation measures Global Positioning System (GPS) reflected L1 (1575.42 MHz) signals. Spire Global, Inc. has also started developing their GNSS-R mission, with four satellites currently in orbit. In this thesis we propose and validate a method to retrieve large-scale near-surface soil moisture and a method to map and monitor inundations using spaceborne GNSS-R. Our soil moisture model is based on the assumption that variations in surface reflectivity are linearly related to variations in soil moisture and uses a new method to normalize the observations with respect to the angle of incidence. The normalization method accounts for the spatially varying effects of coherent and incoherent scattering. We found a median unbiased root-mean-square error (ubRMSE) of 0.042 cm3 cm-3 when comparing our method to two years of Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) data and a median ubRMSE of 0.059 cm3 cm-3 compared to the observations of 207 in-situ stations. Our results also showed an improved temporal resolution compared to sensors traditionally used for this purpose. Assessing Spire and CYGNSS data over a region in south east Australia, we observed a similar behavior in terms of surface reflectivity and sensitivity to soil moisture. As Spire satellites collect data from multiple GNSS constellations, we found that it is important to differentiate the observations when calibrating a soil moisture model. The inundation mapping method that we propose is based on a track-wise approach. When classifying the reflections track by track the influence of the angle of incidence and the GNSS transmitted power are minimized or eliminated. With CYGNSS data we produced more than four years of monthly surface water maps over the Amazon River basin and the Pantanal wetlands complex with a spatial resolution of 4.5 km. With GNSS-R we could overcome some of the limitations of optical and microwave remote sensing methods for inundation mapping. We used a set of metrics commonly used to evaluate classification performance to assess our product and discussed the differences and similarities with other products. [less ▲]

Les Italiens dans le Luxembourg des migrations (4e partie)

Article for general public (2023)

Guidelines for Renewal and Securitization of a Critical Infrastructure based on IoT Networks

in Smart Cities (2023)

Global warming has increased uncertainty regarding managing traditional water supply systems. Unfortunately, there is a need for the smart management of water supply systems. This work aims to design a ... [more ▼]

Global warming has increased uncertainty regarding managing traditional water supply systems. Unfortunately, there is a need for the smart management of water supply systems. This work aims to design a solution for renewing and securing critical infrastructure that supplies water and provides water purification inside the range of applications of Industry 4.0 for Smart Cities. Therefore, we analyze the renewal requirements and the applicable use cases and propose a solution based on IoT networks for critical infrastructure in the urban environment. We describe the architecture of the IoT network and the specific hardware for securing a water supply and wastewater treatment chain. In addition, the water level control process for the supply chain and the system that ensures the optimal level of chemicals for wastewater treatment are detailed. Finally, we present the guidelines for infrastructure operators to carry out this operation within Industry 4.0, constituting a development framework for future research on the design of Smart Cities. [less ▲]

Cryptojacking

Article for general public (2023)

Metabolomic profiles in night shift workers: A cross-sectional study on hospital female nurses

in Frontiers in Public Health (2023)

Background and aim: Shift work, especially including night shifts, has been found associated with several diseases, including obesity, diabetes, cancers, and cardiovascular, mental, gastrointestinal and ... [more ▼]

Background and aim: Shift work, especially including night shifts, has been found associated with several diseases, including obesity, diabetes, cancers, and cardiovascular, mental, gastrointestinal and sleep disorders. Metabolomics (an omics-based methodology) may shed light on early biological alterations underlying these associations. We thus aimed to evaluate the effect of night shift work (NSW) on serum metabolites in a sample of hospital female nurses. Methods: We recruited 46 nurses currently working in NSW in Milan (Italy), matched to 51 colleagues not employed in night shifts. Participants filled in a questionnaire on demographics, lifestyle habits, personal and family health history and work, and donated a blood sample. The metabolome was evaluated through a validated targeted approach measuring 188 metabolites. Only metabolites with at least 50% observations above the detection limit were considered, after standardization and log-transformation. Associations between each metabolite and NSW were assessed applying Tobit regression models and Random Forest, a machine-learning algorithm. Results: When comparing current vs. never night shifters, we observed lower levels of 21 glycerophospholipids and 6 sphingolipids, and higher levels of serotonin (+171.0%, 95%CI: 49.1–392.7), aspartic acid (+155.8%, 95%CI: 40.8–364.7), and taurine (+182.1%, 95%CI: 67.6–374.9). The latter was higher in former vs. never night shifters too (+208.8%, 95%CI: 69.2–463.3). Tobit regression comparing ever (i.e., current + former) and never night shifters returned similar results. Years worked in night shifts did not seem to affect metabolite levels. The Random-Forest algorithm confirmed taurine and aspartic acid among the most important variables in discriminating current vs. never night shifters. Conclusions: This study, although based on a small sample size, shows altered levels of some metabolites in night shift workers. If confirmed, our results may shed light on early biological alterations that might be related to adverse health effects of NSW. [less ▲]

The Standards Effect: The public instrumentalisation of technical standards in EU law

Doctoral thesis (2023)

Digitising History From a Global Context; And What This Tells Us About Access and Inequality

in Historical Transactions - Royal Historical Society Blog (2023)

In this post we continue our series — ‘Historical Research in the Digital Age’ — which explores historians’ use and understanding of the digital tools and sources that shape modern research culture. The ... [more ▼]

In this post we continue our series — ‘Historical Research in the Digital Age’ — which explores historians’ use and understanding of the digital tools and sources that shape modern research culture. The series explores the impact and implications of digital resources (positive and negative) for how historians work today. In Part Five we hear from Gerben Zaagsma who is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH), University of Luxembourg. Here, Gerben explores the concept of ‘digital abundance’ in global perspective. Allocations of digital resources, and the capacity to access digital content, reflect wider divisions between Global Norths and Souths. However, as Gerben argues, the realities of digital imbalance also cut across these binary divisions. For many, a crucial impediment to research remains the lack of digital discoverability for analogue sources. Gerben also offers ways to better facilitate digital provision in the Global South and connect Northern / Southern research cultures. [less ▲]

Интервью с Инной Гэншоу - исследователем Университета Люксембурга, 22.02.2023г.

Speeches/Talks (2023)

The interview treats the creation of the Luxembourg Ukrainian Researcher Network LURN at the C2DH and the oral history project with war the testimonies of Ukrainian refugees in the Greater Region "24.02 ... [more ▼]

The interview treats the creation of the Luxembourg Ukrainian Researcher Network LURN at the C2DH and the oral history project with war the testimonies of Ukrainian refugees in the Greater Region "24.02.22, 5 am: Testimonies from the War". У нас в гостях исследователь университета Люксембурга Инна Гэншоу @innaganschow. При ее непосредственном участии на базе Люксембургского университета была создана Украинская ассоциация ученых - LURN. Ее цель - познакомить украинских ученых с академической культурой Люксембурга и запустить новые совместные проекты, создать базу для двусторонних и международных проектов, обмена, коопераций. А также наработки навыков и партнерств, которые помогут академическому сообществу Украины восстановить науку и интегрировать ее в европейский контекст. [less ▲]

More than Meets the Eye: Participatory (In)Justice and the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive

Article for general public (2023)

Examining the challenge-hindrance-threat distinction of job demands alongside job resources.

in Frontiers in Psychology (2023), 14(1011815),

Purpose: Previous research conducted on the Job Demands-Resources model has mostly ignored the newly introduced Challenge-Hindrance-Threat distinction of workplace stressors. Thus, to better understand ... [more ▼]

Purpose: Previous research conducted on the Job Demands-Resources model has mostly ignored the newly introduced Challenge-Hindrance-Threat distinction of workplace stressors. Thus, to better understand the nature of job demands, the present study aimed to explore this distinction of job demands within the framework of the Job Demands-Resources model. Moreover, it examined competing theoretical frameworks by investigating the associations between job characteristics and psychological health variables (i.e., burnout, vigor). Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected via computer assisted telephone interview among a representative sample of employees working in Luxembourg (n = 1,506). Findings: Structural Equation Modeling supported the distinctiveness of the proposed demand categories in terms of their effects. The health impairing nature of threats, hindrances, and challenges, as well as the motivational potential of resources was supported. Yet, scarce support was found for the moderating effects of demands and resources on employees’ well-being. Research implications: Based on these findings, we argue for an extended framework of job characteristics, which will more accurately describe their nature and effects on employees. Practical implications: In order to promote employee’s well-being, occupational health advisors need to be aware of the distinct demand-wellbeing relations when implementing job redesign measures. Originality/value: Combining multiple theoretical frameworks is considered a leading principle in occupational health research. The present study implements an extended classification framework of workplace stressors into one of today’s most influential theoretical framework of job characteristics. [less ▲]