High-Resolution Mapping of Soil Organic Carbon
We are seeking a PhD candidate to develop a system for high-resolution mapping of soil organic carbon at the field scale. The project involves investigating the soil mapping performances of European Sentinel 2 and Sentinel 1 satellites, as well as the Italian PRISMA and the German EnMAP satellites.
The PhD candidate will design and implement a reference sampling strategy, and assess the scaling up of the system to the Walloon region. The developed system should provide up-to-date soil organic carbon maps for at least two separate time slices with an interval of 3-5 years.
The selected candidate will work on developing methods based on Earth Observation data, which will be calibrated and validated by regional soil databases. This project aims to contribute to the Plan de Relance de la Wallonie by providing accurate and reliable soil organic carbon maps.
This research position will focus on croplands, as these are most vulnerable to soil organic carbon loss. The preferred start date is March 2023, but this is negotiable. More information about this position can be found online.