Nicholas Metherall
Nick is currently completing his PhD through a joint cotutelle program between the University of the South Pacific and the Australian National University. His research focuses on ridge-to-reef environmental monitoring as well as GIS environmental modelling and remote-sensing land-sea frameworks through riparian corridors. He completed his MSc in the water science specialisation through courses in both the Fenner School as well as the Research School of Earth Sciences at the ANU. Nick also completed his MSc thesis research on quantifying the impacts of in-river gravel extraction on sediment transport in Fiji.
Nick's research areas and skills include: GIS and remote sensing, hydrological and environmental modelling, python, FullCAM carbon accounting, field sampling and measurements of surfacewater and groundwater chemical, geophysical and hydrological parameters and some ecological fieldwork sampling experience forestry biomass carbon assessments as well as sampling of benthic invertebrates and ichthyofauna.
He has worked in a range of Government Departments including the Federal Departments of Agriculture, Water and Environment, the Climate Change Division of the Department of Environment and Energy and the Australian Trade Commission. During this time, Nick also worked in environmental monitoring of the impacts of the Ranger Uranium Mine on the Magela floodplains and creeks adjacent close to Jabiru and Kakadu in the Northern Territory. Nick led a team of volunteers to secure second place in the MAXAR Spatial Challenge regional category through a project that combined Digital Globe sub-metre high resolution imagery with FullCAM modelling to assess regeneration of biomass carbon in the context of the 2019-20 bushfire recovery through a case study in Cann River, Gippsland. Nick was also the team lead for the Yadrava na Vanua team that gained first place in the Space for Planet Earth Competition to use satellite data to estimate carbon sequestration. The team was led by students and staff from the University of the South Pacific, University of Fiji and Fiji National University.
Sessions
The workshop will include a) field survey component where participants will be able to walk around Auckland to collect data points in QField for QGIS and b) a computer lab component where participants will use Digital Earth Pacific Python Notebooks to generate a land cover map.
This paper highlights the datasets, analytical tools, computational capacity and insights made possible through Digital Earth Pacific (DE Pacific). The paper focuses on the use case of participatory land use land cover model calibration and validation using QField and the Digital Earth Pacific Jupyter Analytics Hub.
Deforestation and forest degradation in the Pacific is an ongoing threat to biodiversity, ecological connectivity and livelihoods. These processes have catalysed rapid expansion of invasive flora constituting severe land degradation. Using Digital Earth Pacific, we are better able to monitor the sprawling expansion of these invasive species.