UK funds six satellite projects to tackle climate challenges

The UK Space Agency announces funding for six climate-focused satellite projects under its third Climate Services Call.

• £380,000 combined investment: The agency is funding six projects to turn satellite and drone data into practical climate services, including woodland health and carbon measurement, seagrass protection, woodland mapping, and tracking agricultural waste for SAF; named leads include New Gradient, Data Dynamics (with Fangorn), Treeconomy (QUBIST), Amelia Space Technologies, 2Excel, and Plastic-i.
• Project details and methods: Projects will deploy satellite, drone, aerial imagery, machine learning and AI to (a) measure woodland health and carbon value, (b) test drones and satellite imagery as replacements for foot surveys, (c) develop the QUBIST methodology to quantify forest carbon uncertainty, (d) track agricultural waste for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), (e) explore new satellite types for detailed woodland condition assessment, and (f) create the Sequestra tool to detect seagrass damage and estimate carbon storage.