Ehsan Khalefa

I am currently a Research Fellow at the Centre for Applied Geoscience, focusing on a project that explores the applications of satellite remote sensing for mapping and monitoring the impacts of climate and land use changes on surface water availability on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. This project is sponsored by NERC. My enthusiasm for remote sensing began during my MSc in Sustainable Management of Natural Resources at the University of Leicester. To further my knowledge in this field, I pursued a Ph.D. at the same university, studying the remote sensing of savannah vegetation structures using the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System and L-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar. Upon completing my Ph.D., I took up a post-doctoral position at the University of Leicester, working on an ESA-funded project that utilized simulated Sentinel-2 data for crop monitoring. I then joined Earthwatch Institution as a remote sensing research consultant, where I contributed to their projects abroad in Oman. Subsequently, I returned to the University of Leicester as a Research Associate, focusing on a project that used Sentinel-2 and Landsat data to study high-value crops. In addition to my research pursuits, I have also completed a PGCE in Geography for Secondary Education at the University of Portsmouth. I have taught A-level physical geography classes part-time at Portsmouth College.

My research interest in remote sensing is fueled by a deep-rooted passion for understanding and preserving our planet. The ability to capture detailed images and data from Earth observation satellites has opened up a world of possibilities, enabling us to monitor and analyze our environment like never before. As a researcher in this fascinating field, my research interests in this area span a diverse range of topics, such as precision agriculture,  land cover and land use change detection, climate change studies, urban planning and monitoring, deforestation and forest degradation monitoring, among others.