Natural Resource Conservation Laboratory

Funded by National Science Foundation EPSCoR Cooperative Agreement OIA-2119689 this work uses machine learning (ML) to process imagery and other data acquired by autonomous aerial systems (UAS). Processed data supports scientific research in natural resource management by providing a clear means of testing hypotheses. The three areas of natural resource management we investigate are:

1) Snow water resources, because energy production, agricultural output, and economic growth require improved assessment of the natural capital banked in the mountain snowpack.

2) Fire management and science, because an advanced understanding of the physical and ecological processes driving wildfire is required for management practices that better protect forests and the critical infrastructure within them.

3) Abandoned oil well monitoring, because detecting and mapping uncapped or improperly sealed oil and gas wells will provide critical data for improved mitigation, site reclamation, and hazard removal.