Analyzing impacts of climate and environmental gradients on vegetation health using Google Earth Engine

Contract

This is a UNV contract. More about UNV contracts.

Morobe Development Foundation Inc. is a not-for-profit organization based in Papua New Guinea and was established to promote sustainable community development initiatives and thereby address several exigent issues – ranging from environmental conservation to women's rights – that are hindering the progress of the country. Few of our ongoing projects focus on applications of various remote sensing technologies for monitoring forest biomass, tracking land use land change patterns, evaluating climate change impacts and conserving sea turtle habitats. We are currently looking for two online volunteers with experience in Google Earth Engine who can help us with global earth data analysis (approximately 15-20 hours per week) regarding the topic “analyzing impacts of climate and environmental gradients on vegetation health”.

Morobe Development Foundation Inc. is looking for two online volunteers who have expertise in Google Earth Engine and a background in the field of forestry, hydrology, climate, remote sensing, or related fields. Selected volunteers would be expected to perform global scale earth data analysis (for example: calculating LST, Drought Intensity, Vegetation Greenness, NDVI, and various other spectral indices and evaluate how they vary w.r.t. topography, drainage, land cover, etc.) utilizing open-source satellite imagery such as Landsat series. Experience with machine learning, data fusion, and/or deep learning is preferred. The analysis results will be included in a peer-reviewed journal article, and based on the level of contributions, the volunteers would be acknowledged (with a certificate) and/or invited to be co-authors.

The ideal candidates should have demonstrated Google Earth Engine experience and have a Ph.D. or Master’s degree or equivalent (e.g. bachelor's degree with 3+ years) in an area related to forestry, hydrology, meteorology, climate change, remote sensing, or related fields. Must have good communication and be very attentive, responsive, and proactive, as our projects are very fast-paced. Please apply with your CV, which includes a section (~ 200 words) highlighting your experience with GEE and why you would be the best candidate for this role. Without the aforementioned information, the applicant wouldn’t be considered for this position.