Fighting Climate Change with Data from Space and AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) has entered its Golden Age. However, AI is data-driven. Machine learning requires more data to provide compelling insights on how to optimize human activity. Landsat 9 will fill the gap and feed invaluable information into the most powerful AI recommender, predictive, and classifications systems ever. A new generation remote sensor satellite is […]

Artificial intelligence (AI) has entered its Golden Age. However, AI is data-driven. Machine learning requires more data to provide compelling insights on how to optimize human activity. Landsat 9 will fill the gap and feed invaluable information into the most powerful AI recommender, predictive, and classifications systems ever. A new generation remote sensor satellite is the key that paves the road to climate change management.

Remote sensors mounted on satellites detect emitted or reflected energy on Earth. The stored data provides the largest source of information on our planet from space in the history of humanity.

NASA provides the stored data from Landsat 8 to researchers around the world. AI researchers can then run machine learning models on the data and make predictions in numerous environmental areas.

Landsat 9’s cutting-edge sensors will provide better image resolution and higher quality data. Artificial intelligence can then help make critical decisions and recommendations concerning coral reef degradation, climate change, glacier melting, water use, tropical deforestation, and many other areas.

Artificial intelligence has recently made giant leaps forward with better deep learning neural networks, such as the Transformer model. The deep learning Transformer model can learn billions of sequences of any data and make breathtaking predictions.

The convergence of Landsat’s 9 launch and artificial intelligence’s maturity brings hope to researchers, industries, farmers, and city managers worldwide. Remote sensors are here to stay.

California fires have been burning thousand-year-old sequoias and beautiful forests, and they threaten urban areas. Remote sensing can provide more accurate imagery data of the forests and can detect energy emissions. AI can take this information and merge it with weather forecasts based on ocean surface temperature, winds, and human activity. AI will use Landsat 9’s more detailed data to make better forecasts. A potentially dangerous fire could be predicted a few days to a week earlier.

Signaling a probable disaster a few days in advance helps local authorities organize evacuations and find necessary resources to fight the disaster. Today, such forecasts already exist. But future forecasts will be more precise and will warn us of imminent disasters earlier. Lives will be saved.

AI-driven remote sensor data can also prevent flood disasters in urban areas. The remote sensors can use AI to study the land structure, river maps, and water levels and to make predictions to order evacuations days before a flood will occur.

An essential mission of Landsat 9 will be to gather data for classical algorithms and machine learning models to determine the difference between natural and human-made disasters. Scientific recommendations based on facts will be made to government and local authorities to implement environmental programs.

Water management, for example, remains one of the main problems humanity has to solve.