JJ (Jens) van der Zee, MSc

From remote sensing to resilience using AI tools

My PhD project focuses on using emerging computational techniques that combine mathematical models with machine learning to better understand, predict and manage how ecosystems respond to changing environmental conditions and increasing anthropogenic pressures. I write algorithms that leverage remote sensing time series data for inverse parameter estimation and system identification of spatio-temporal models of ecosystems. These improved models are then used for simulations in a reinforcement learning setup, in which an AI agent can learn optimal management strategies that prevent ecosystems from tipping into degraded states.

Figure: Diagram illustrating the two objectives of my PhD project. It shows how an incomplete model can be improved using parameter estimation and system identification techniques applied to time series data sourced from satellite image archives and climate reanalysis products. The improved model is then used as a testing environment for an ecosystem management agent in a reinforcement learning setup.