Remote sensing the past: integrating satellite imagery and palaeoecological datasets to explore recent environmental change
Remote sensing is becoming increasingly important in certain areas of archaeology, such as large-area optical imaging of ancient settlements, 3D laser scanning of anthropogenic structures, and ground penetrating radar to detect sub-surface features. However, there is considerable, as yet untapped, potential to integrate palaeoecological datasets (such as pollen and phytoliths) with remotely sensed imagery for integrated analysis on historic environmental change. Ecologists and Palaeoecologists often collect modern data for comparison with the past, through pollen trapping, soil and sediment analysis, etc. Complementarily, remote sensing image archives now stretch back over 40 years. As such, palaeoecological data could provide a rich source of reference data to support large-area historic remotely sensed image analysis, enabling spatial reconstruction and increasing the sophistication and accuracy of past environmental reconstructions to further our understanding of Earth systems. Specifically, recent pollen and soil data could be compared with image-derived land cover, and the relationships could be applied to palaeoecological data to characterise past environments. Despite the obvious potential for combining palaeoecology and remote sensing, little such work has been carried out – we believe this subject provides great opportunity for targeted collaboration between these fields.
The aim of this meeting is to build collaborations and research capacity in integrated and novel palaeoecology-remote sensing research by leading the development of a specialist network. It will bring together leaders in these fields to establish an agenda and community for integrated palaeoecology-remote sensing research, with a view towards future major grant applications.
Meeting Format
The format of the meeting has been designed to allow the best opportunities for researchers to network, discuss their fields of research and exchange ideas as to the complementarities of remote sensing and palaeo research to foster new research collaborations. As such, this one-day meeting will include a series of presentations in the morning giving an overview of current relevant palaeo and remote sensing research, and ideas for the future, followed in the afternoon by workshop sessions and discussions to examine the feasibility of linking these two, currently disparate, fields, and the potential for collaborative research and grant proposals.