How do you personally and professionally relate to water and/or space technologies?
I grew up in the southeast coastal region of China, in a city known as the “Venice of the East” because of its interwoven network of rivers. Water has shaped the landscape and culture of my hometown, so it naturally holds a special meaning for me.
As I moved into my academic path, my research has focused on improving urban environmental quality, where water plays a central role. The water cycle influences urban microclimates, cooling processes, and the way people experience the city. In data analysis related to urban planning and environmental governance, I work with satellite-derived data on land use, green spaces, water bodies, and surface temperature to help me understand spatial patterns in cities.
Can you tell us about your past position as a PhD candidate in Civil Engineering?
As a PhD candidate in Civil Engineering, my research was not focused on traditional areas such as structures or transportation. Instead, I was more interested in how urban forms interact, with the urban environment and what this means for sustainable development. I studied the distribution of environmental quality in cities and how green infrastructure and urban forms influence these patterns. This experience helped me look at urban environmental issues from a spatial perspective and made me realize that space technologies could be a valuable complement to traditional methods for monitoring urban environments.
What is green infrastructure, how does it connect with water-related processes, and what role do geospatial technologies play?
Green infrastructure refers to using natural elements such as urban parks, forests, and green corridors to improve the urban environment and public health, and it is also linked with water through processes such as rainwater infiltration and evapotranspiration. It is considered a typical nature-based solution (NbS).
Geospatial technologies can provide many useful indicators for green infrastructure. For example, satellite observations can provide vegetation indices such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and enhanced vegetation index (EVI), as well as land surface temperature (LST), land use types, surface water extent, and evapotranspiration rates. These indicators help evaluate how green infrastructure influences urban environmental conditions, providing useful information for planning and management.
Your research focuses on field monitoring for air quality, temperature, and noise. Can you explain the relations between air quality and water? How does air quality impact water quality?
Air and water are both part of the Earth and influence each other in many ways.
Aerosols in the air can affect the water cycle. For example, they can act as cloud condensation nuclei, change cloud formation and rainfall patterns, and therefore influence the regional distribution of water resources. Aerosols also absorb and scatter solar radiation, which reduces the amount of shortwave energy reaching the surface. This can change surface evapotranspiration and then influence the water cycle.
Air quality can also have direct effects on water quality. Pollutants in the air can be deposited onto land or water bodies through precipitation, including sulfates, nitrates, heavy metals, and organic compounds. In cities, these substances may enter rivers, lakes, or drainage systems, leading to higher nutrient levels, acidification, or even risks for drinking water sources.
More broadly, how can space technologies be used for environmental monitoring, including water resources?
Space technologies have many practical uses for environmental monitoring. In the atmosphere, for example, the TROPOMI sensor (Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument) on Sentinel-5P can monitor gases such as NO₂ and O₃ as well as aerosols, and the CALIPSO mission (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation) uses lidar to measure the vertical structure of aerosol layers. For the water cycle, the GPM mission (Global Precipitation Measurement) provides high-resolution rainfall data, the SMAP mission (Soil Moisture Active Passive) monitors soil moisture, and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and Sentinel-1 and 2 are often used to detect surface water and estimate evapotranspiration and vegetation conditions. These satellites provide continuous and global observations that are essential for understanding changes in the global environment.
What are nature-based solutions (NbS) and what role do space technologies play in NbS?
Nature-based solutions (NbS) use natural systems, such as urban green spaces, wetlands, and forests, to address environmental, climate, and social challenges. Space technologies play an important role in supporting NbS. Satellite data can monitor changes in vegetation, assess forest health, detect wetland degradation, and track land use, which provides information for planning and implementation. For example, MODIS, Sentinel-2, and Landsat can monitor long-term changes in green areas and forests, Sentinel-1 radar can observe wetlands and water bodies, and Sentinel-5P can help evaluate whether NbS measures are improving air quality.
Can you tell us about the “GoGreenRoute” project? What role does water play in that project? And are they using space-based technology for monitoring?
GoGreenRoutes is an EU-funded project. It focuses on NbS to improve physical, mental, social, and environmental health in cities, which the project calls the 360-Health approach. It works in several European cities, using green corridors, pocket parks, and walking routes to improve urban quality of life and strengthen people’s connection with nature.
In this project, most actions focus on green elements such as planted streets, small parks, and green corridors. At the same time, blue and green spaces like green riverbanks or wetland parks also align with the NbS approach and can contribute to improving microclimate and comfort in similar urban settings.
My involvement in this project is mainly related to environmental monitoring and data analysis. I contributed to the collection and analysis of field data, including air quality (e.g., PM2.5), temperature, and noise levels along urban green routes in cultivating cities. I also supported the interpretation of how different urban elements - such as vegetation and surrounding infrastructure - affect environmental conditions and human well-being.
In terms of monitoring, GoGreenRoutes mainly relies on ground measurements, citizen participation and behavioural observation. Although the project does not heavily depend on space-based technology, satellite data still support our work by providing useful information on land cover, green areas, or surface temperature.
You developed a “smart backpack” mobile platform integrated with sensors for real-time monitoring of environmental quality indicators. What were your main findings? Were there any gaps? What applications related to collecting and sharing in-situ data were used that could be of value for in-situ data collection for water?
Yes, the “smart backpack” is a mobile monitoring platform with multiple sensors that collect air pollutants, temperature, and humidity in real time while moving through the city. It helped reveal spatial differences that fixed stations often miss, for example, along different street types or green areas, and the data could be sent to the lab and be visualised in real time. We found that these micro-scale differences can create high exposure hotspots in certain locations, meaning that people’s actual exposure during daily activities can be much higher than general monitoring data suggest. Of course, there were also limitations such as sensor stability, battery life, and weather conditions.
This experience can also be useful for water monitoring. If combined with water quality sensors, riverbank monitoring, or citizen science, similar methods could be used to upload and share real-time water data and track water conditions in space and time, as a complement to traditional hydrological stations.
What are your top three skills for performing research?
I would say my top three research skills are data analysis and modelling, the ability to translate scientific knowledge into practical action, and cross-cultural collaboration skills.
What do you need to innovate?
For me, innovation comes from connecting ideas across fields, for example, linking urban planning with space technologies or climate models, and from having access to open data and tools.
What is your favourite aggregate state of water?
My favourite state of water is vapor. It is invisible yet everywhere, and it plays a key part in cloud formation, climate, and the water cycle. It feels light but full of energy and is one of the most dynamic forms of water in nature.
