Terrestrial and oceanic ecosystems across the world are changing. There is a pressing need for data to deliver a functional understanding of the dynamic processes occurring in these ecosystems in a timely and cost-effective way.

Until recently, scientists have relied on data from satellite systems for monitoring such Earth system changes. However, these data suffer spatial and temporal resolution limitations in some systems, which can restrict their utility. Examples of such systems include:

- Coral reefs – while only representing approximately 1% of the earth’s surface, coral reefs are considered one of our most diverse ecosystems. Information that we can retrieve from satellites is severely limited by the level of detail they provide as reef features of interest are often very small (<1/2m2).

- Dryland systems – these cover around 40% of the global land surface and are characterised by sparse shrubs, grasses and small trees, and despite their low biomass, may hold the key to understanding how the global carbon cycle changes from year-to-year. Here, the satellite signal is severely affected by soil-background effects, which in coarse-grained pixels can mask the year-to-year changes in vegetation productivity.

We need fine-scale spatial observations that can elucidate these dynamic processes and inform improved estimation of global-scale impacts and feedbacks from satellite data. Enter, the drone.

Whilst it is tempting to imagine that consumer drones, costing just a few hundred pounds, might be the mainstay of hobbyist model aircraft flyers, this lecture will encourage you to think again. Consumer grade drones are actually very widely used by scientists, who have adopted and adapted this technology to provide new data for monitoring environmental change. Our seminar will showcase the latest research, showing how cutting edge drone methods are changing the way we understand coral reef and dryland ecosystems.