Lonesome George - Space Apps Challenge

Lonesome George| A New Perspective

A New Perspective

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, protected areas and other forms of wilderness areas (e.g., arboretums, beaches, parks, marine monuments) have been closed worldwide. Your challenge is to lead the effort to examine any potential impacts of reduced human traffic in such local protected natural environments.

Impact of Reduced Traffic and Tourism in the Galapagos Islands due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Summary

The COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on the Galapagos Islands. Due to the severe mobility and travel restrictions imposed by the Ecuadorian government as measures to fight the current world health crisis, the Galapagos Islands were no longer host to the great number of tourists that come through each month. Our team decided to use Earth observation data to analyze the impact of this reduction on air, maritime, and human traffic is having on the archipelago's environment. The results would be of interest to future conservation plans on this UNESCO World Heritage Site, a place of great importance for its unique flora and fauna in the world.

How We Addressed This Challenge

A New Perspective focus is to evaluate the changes in protected and other wilderness areas. We decided to address this challenge by studying the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our very own UNESCO World Heritage Natural Site the Galapagos National Park, which was closed off by the restrictions established by the Ecuadorian government plummeting its constant tourist traffic.

How We Developed This Project

As Ecuadorians, we were inspired to analyze the impact this Pandemic is having on one of no only our national but world national treasure. We wanted to use Earth Observation data to evaluate how the environment was affected and learn new skills so we can better aid the ecosystem and people living in the archipelago.

This document describes the process we followed to develop the project:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJHda43Viq4Osf3rovtnxJEZtw4pdhZKQgPFgzBTC78/edit?usp=sharing

Project Demo

Please look at the following slides showcasing an overview of our project. Thank you!
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1cZR8t0CwLKaL7u0y8eptcsqHQHWT7wBvZk1ioHUVHgU/edit?usp=sharing

Data & Resources

ESA Copernicus Open Access Hub

Sentinel Application Platform

Python, MATLAB, QGIS

Global Judging

This project was submitted for consideration during the Space Apps Global Judging process.