He climate change and the water and food insecurity are some of the challenges that faces the world currently. Against this background, the contest Pale Blue Dot: Visualization Challenge, a NASA initiative, is deployed as an ideal space for innovators from various disciplines. This contest, which brought together almost 1,600 participants from 100 countries, highlighted the work of five young Argentineans under 30 years of age.
Is about Francisco Furey and Malena García Vildozateam members Live Aqua, one of the five winning groups, which focused their work on the crisis of access to drinking water in the world; and María Azul Schvartzman, Iván Barbero and Alfonso Aguilerawho achieved an Honorable Mention by highlighting their project on climate risk mitigation among the 33 selected.
The objective of this contest is to create visualizations, through the use of Earth observation (EO) datawhich provide accurate information on the atmosphere, oceans, ecosystems, land cover and the built environment, essential points to promote the Sustainable Development Goals of: zero hunger, clean water and sanitation, and climate action.
The importance of using these data is that they provide accurate information about the planet’s atmosphere, oceans, ecosystems, and built environments. In total, there were five international teams that won: EE Frogs, H2plastic, Hunatek-Kalman, Spatial Clan and Long live Aqua.
The team of AquaViva focused on developing an innovative solution aimed at addressing the crisis of access to drinking water in the world, through the use of machine learning technology. The objective: generate High resolution groundwater level maps.
This work addresses one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 6) and uses advanced machine learning models trained with diverse data sets, including satellite images, climate variables and geological features. This tool has the potential to help communities address water scarcity, monitor groundwater, and efficiently locate suitable sources of clean water.
The project, which is open source and free, invites collaborators to improve and expand the work done; For its training data set, the team conducted an exhaustive review of the literature on previous studies and key concepts, in addition to collecting and processing information from multiple sources, such as the Global Groundwater Information System (GGIS/IGRAC)he British Geological Survey (BGS)and tools like AρρEEARS and ClimateSERV.
Their work has allowed the Viva Aqua team to obtain piezometric data from 36 wells in Gambia from 2015 to 2022, in addition to information on climatic and geological variables that facilitate the prediction of groundwater level. According to them, the idea for the project was born after a volunteer trip to Honduras, in which contaminated manual wells were identified and in an effort to reduce the costs associated with hydrogeological studies, the team decided to use technology that could map key information, such as groundwater levels.
The team, which has a multidisciplinary approach, is made up of Argentinians Francisco Furey, a programming enthusiast Pythonnature, satellite images and the piloting of drones that work as data scientist for an American startup related to NFL; and Malena Vildoza, a student of Social and Cultural Anthropology in the National University of San Martín (EIDAES), interested in interdisciplinary research that promotes social and environmental justice.
They complete it Adam Zhengan American student of aerospace engineering at Texas A&M Universitywhich specializes in mathematics and philosophy; and El Hadji Malick DIEYE (Jay), who has an associate degree in Geomatics and a bachelor’s degree in Topography and Territorial Planning of the Thies University in Senegal.
Meanwhile, the others three young Argentineans under 30 years of age distinguished by the POT They carried out their work on mitigation of climate risks. A distinction, obtained between 1,591 jobs presented globally, which underlines the excellence and impact of the project presented. The team is integrated by María Azul Schvartzman, Iván Barbero and Alfonso Aguilera, who managed to highlight their project among the 33 selected.
The three young people have a multidisciplinary approach. Schvartzmanhas a degree in Environmental Sciences, with extensive experience in environmental policies and has participated in international forums such as the COP28in Dubai. Barber He is a geologist and a doctoral candidate in biology. CONICETspecializes in ecohydrology and watershed studies and Alfonso Aguilera is a programmer and social entrepreneur, works on technological solutions for governments and organizations, and founder of Digital Impactan organization that carries out technologies with social impact at a regional level.
The award-winning project aims to develop a tool that identifies correlations and causal links between land use factors and their impact on the urban drinking water supply. This tool is designed to predict incidents related to water and allows informed decisions to be made regarding infrastructure and planning. Furthermore, it is scalable to other cities, which increases its relevance and applicability.
To carry out their project, the team used satellite images and Google Earth Engine, to create a theoretical model to mitigate water risks. They used a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) to delineate water supply basins. They also used images of Landsat 8, applied atmospheric corrections and adjusted visual parameters to optimize the representation on the map. This methodology allows you to customize date ranges and explore different image collections for specific analysis needs.
The developed tool identifies areas with challenges in water supply and also provides a practical resource for the Continuous monitoring and analysis. By combining field data, satellite images and geospatial technologies, the study contributes to a holistic understanding of water supply problems in South American cities. This paves the way for informed decision making and sustainable management of water resources, which facilitates compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals of United Nations related to clean water and sanitation.
The map visualization highlights changes in land cover within the Santa Lucía River basin, which serves as the main source of water supply for Montevideo, Uruguay. Using Landsat images of 1986 and 2021, The developers observed changes in land cover as a visual factor that helps explain the various water crises experienced by the Santa Lucía basin, particularly highlighting the growth of urban areas.
Urban growth, population growth, and industrial and agricultural activities in the metropolitan region, where 60% of Uruguay’s population reside, have exacerbated the crisis due to increased water consumption and pressure on existing sources. These changes have influenced the management of the drinking water and water resources.
This tool developed by Argentine experts has the potential to be a valuable resource for public policy makers and civil society. Your work contributes to the Sustainable management of water resources and climate risk mitigationmoving towards compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals related to clean water and sanitation.
