Interdisciplinary Geoinformation Sciences

Institute of Geography » Interdisciplinary geographic information sciences

Interdisciplinary Geoinformation Sciences

The research and teaching activities of the newly founded working group Interdisciplinary Geoinformation Sciences focus on the spatio-temporal modelling of the transformation of metropolitan regions, the interdisciplinary integration of geodata and the analysis of (near-real-time) geoinformation.

Matthias Maurer on board the ISS.
(ESA)

Automatic detection of Cultural Heritage Sites in Digital Terrain Models.
(Fabian Meyer-Heß)

Minisatellites of the German CanSat Competition.
In the German CanSat competition, schoolchildren from all over Germany build their own mini-satellites and experience all the phases of a space mission. (Christina Nadolsky, @ESERO Germany (CC BY 3.0 DE))

Map of global crustal thickness on the Moon (Lunaserv GRAIL Crustal Thickness).
Data basis: Lunaserv GRAIL Crust thickness (Roman Hiby)

Tailings Dam Break Brumadinho.
Simulation result of a GIS-based model for the calculation of spatially affected areas of the tailings storage facility dam failure in Brumadinho. (Torben Dedring, Sources: Esri, Airbus DS, USGS, NGAm NASA, CGIAR, N Robinson, NCEAS, NLS, OS, NMA, Geodatastyrelsen, Rijkswaterstaat, GSA, Geoland, FEMA, Intermap and the GIS user community, Esri Community Maps Contributors, HERE, Garmin, METI/NASA)

Nachtlichter app observation.
The image shows two people using the Nachtlichter app to categorize an ourdoor light source. (Stefanie Partsch (2021))

Field work.
(Steinbach, Goebel, Dedring, Bartels, Rienow)

Sealed surfaces in the urban area of Wuppertal.
Left: Digital orthophoto (2021), Right: Overlay with created sealing layer. (Jan-Philipp Langenkamp, Quelle: Digitale Orthophotos (2021), © GeoBasis NRW 2023)

SAR-Interferometry for volcanic eruptions.
This image shows the usage of SAR-Interferometry measuring seismic activity at the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma shortly before (l.) and after (r.) the first eruption in September 2021. (Roman Hiby 2022)

Land surface temperature in urban fabric areas 2000 (l.) and 2018 (r.).
(Anna Hellings, © EuroGeographics for the administrative boundaries. Data Origin: MODIS MOD11A1, CORINE Land Cover)

Research focus

Spatio-temporal analysis of the transformation of metropolitan spaces
Interdisciplinary integration of geodata
Analysis of (real-time) geoinformation and crowd mapping
Innovative methods of Earth observation training
ISS-based remote sensing

Transformation of metropolitan regions

The working group contributes primarily to the "Resilient Cities" and "Smart Cities" clusters through the modelling and monitoring of human-environment interactions. AI models are used to shed light on the socio-ecological and geo-bio-physical drivers of complex urban systems as well as the interrelationships of decision-making processes, the spatially-explicit land-use configuration and their socio-ecological impacts. Related to this is the exploration of volunteered geographic information and citizen science that adds value to the monitoring of human-environment interactions in metropolitan regions. Another focus is on studies dealing with the applicability of (near-real-time) geoinformation to promote interdisciplinary STEM competences in the field of education for sustainable development.