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Terrain-AI: Uncovering new insights to support effective climate change decision-making

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  • Project Team:
  • Principle Investigators:
    • Prof. Rowan Fealy, (Maynooth University)
    • Prof. Tim McCarthy (Maynooth University)
  • Academic Collaborators:
    • Prof. Brian Caulfield, Dr Matt Saunders (Trinity College Dublin)
    • Prof. Gerald Mills, Dr Brian Tobin (University College Dublin)
    • Dr Stuart Green, Dr Reamonn Fealy, Dr Gary Lanigan, Dr Cathal Buckley (Teagasc)
    • Prof. Fiona Regan, Dr Ali Intizar (Dublin City University)
    • Dr Ken Byrne (University of Limerick)
    • Prof. Andrew Parnell, Dr Rafael de Andrade Moral, Dr Peter Mooney, Dr Edgar Galvan (Maynooth University)
  • Trinity Researchers:
    • Dr Anna Charly (Trinity College Dublin-Transport Modeling)


  • Website:


  • Funding Agency:
    • SFI and Microsoft


  • Location:
    • Ireland (20+ test sites comprising Forestry, Cropland, Grassland, Peatland and Urban)


  • Themes:
    • Energy, Climate Action and Sustainability: Sustainable Living


  • Description:
    • Terrain-AI is a collaborative research effort coordinated by a team of over 45 dedicated research specialists from different academic and research organisations. It also includes several other collaborators from the industry and government agencies in Ireland. This research aims to develop a digital data platform capable of integrating, analysing and visualising large volumes of Earth Observation data, including those from satellites, drones, and on-site measurements. The data obtained from multi-thematic data sources will then be integrated with existing databases and Machine Learning workflows to extract meaningful information which can facilitate decision-making. This data and modelling platform will increase our understanding of how management practices can influence carbon emissions arising from the landscape, thus enabling more sustainable land management within environmental and regulatory constraints.

      Transport Emission Modeling in Terrain-AI
      Transport Emission Modeling forms a significant part of urban land use emission modelling. Prof. Brian Caulfield leads it from Trinity College Dublin, Prof. Gerald Mills from University College Dublin, and Prof. Rowan Fealy and Prof. Tim McCarthy from Maynooth University. The primary objective of the work package dealing with urban land use is to integrate mobility, weather, and topography datasets to produce an improved emission measurement tool by mode of transport. The study aims to work with the existing transport models used by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and the National Transport Authority (NTA) and arrive at an improved model for estimating emissions for urban and interurban travel. These enhanced models can then be used for framing new guidelines and incorporating them into national standards.