Santiago Yépez - H2O'Lyon webinar - "From Spectral Signatures to Territory: Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Applications"

Registration link on the H2O'Lyon website

 

«Advanced hyperspectral remote sensing has been the central focus of my research over the last twenty years, integrating airborne hyperspectral imagery, multispectral satellite data, and field radiometric measurements to study aquatic and forest ecosystems in Chile, Venezuela, and France. My work has addressed key environmental challenges related to water quality, suspended sediment transport, aquatic vegetation dynamics, and tree species discrimination through the development of empirical, spectral, and machine learning approaches.
In southern Chilean lakes, I have developed remote sensing methodologies based on Landsat-8/9, Sentinel-2, and ASD FieldSpec-4 measurements to estimate chlorophyll-a concentrations and monitor eutrophication processes and seasonal phytoplankton biomass increases. In parallel, research conducted in the Orinoco River demonstrated the potential of Landsat-8 OLI imagery for estimating suspended sediment concentrations and understanding hydrosedimentological variability in large tropical rivers using surface reflectance models.
My research has also focused on forest ecosystems, where airborne HySpex VNIR-1800 hyperspectral imagery combined with LiDAR data and advanced machine learning techniques enabled the discrimination and mapping of native tree species in the Valdivian temperate rainforest of southern Chile.
Current work in the Rhône River focuses on the spectral characterization of aquatic macrophytes and algal communities using ASD FieldSpec-4 measurements. Particular attention is given to optical attenuation effects associated with water depth and turbidity, and their implications for remote sensing-based classification of aquatic vegetation. The integration of field spectral libraries and very high-resolution Pléiades Neo imagery provides new opportunities for monitoring anthropized river systems and understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics of macrophytes in the Rhône River.»

Santiago Yépez is a geologist and Associate Professor at Universidad de Concepción (Chile). His research focuses on fluvial geomorphology, sediment transport, and hyperspectral remote sensing.