Dr Andy Hardy

PhD Geomatics, MSc Environmental Monitoring, Modelling and Reconstruction, BSc Geography.

Dr Andy Hardy

Senior Lecturer in Remote Sensing and GIS

Department of Geography and Earth Sciences

Contact Details

Profile

I am currently a lecturer in Remote Sensing in GIS in the Dept. Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University, UK. With a PhD in Geomatics (Newcastle University, UK) and an MSc in Environmental Modelling and Monitoring (Manchester University, UK) I have a background in hydrological/environmental modelling, spatial statistics, GIS and remote sensing.

Currently sitting within the Earth Observation and Ecosystem Dynamics research group (https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/dges/research/earth-observation-laboratory/) my research has centred on the use of remote sensing for mapping biophysical parameters including applications related to land cover dynamics, hydrology and malaria vector ecology, using a range of systems from optical/radar satellites to manned aircraft and drones.I have been keen to focus the application of my skills to public health challenges with previous research projects including the use of hydraulic flood modelling for mapping malaria habitats in Western Zambia and the use of drones for providing spatial intelligence for malaria elimination in Zanzibar.

Research

Together with collaborators we have recently secured over $15.5m for a range of research projects including: mapping mangrove forest change across the African Continent (Mangroves Capital); the use of hydraulic flood modelling for mapping malaria vector habitats in Western Zambia (NERC); the use of drones for extracting market-ready products (Innovate UK); and supporting precision agriculture in South America with Earth Observation (UK Space Ageny). Alongside these current projects, over the last five years I have been working closely with the Zanzibar Ministry for Health to provide spatial intelligence for precision larviciding (Royal Geographical Society, Innovative Vector Control Consortium): this work fits within an overall strategy to develop practical spatial tools for operational vector control to help combat diseases like malaria. I warmly welcome collaborators with a similar line of enquiry.

Publications

Oakes, G, Hardy, A & Bunting, P 2023, 'RadWet: An Improved and Transferable Mapping of Open Water and Inundated Vegetation Using Sentinel-1', Remote Sensing, vol. 15, no. 6, 1705. 10.3390/rs15061705
Hardy, A, Palmer, PI & Oakes, G 2023, 'Satellite data reveal how Sudd wetland dynamics are linked with globally-significant methane emissions', Environmental Research Letters, vol. 18, no. 7, 074044. 10.1088/1748-9326/ace272
Hardy, A, Proctor, M, MacCallum, C, Shawe, J, Abdalla, S, Ali, R, Abdalla, S, Oakes, G, Rosu, L & Worrall, E 2022, 'Conditional trust: Community perceptions of drone use in malaria control in Zanzibar', Technology in Society, vol. 68, 101895. 10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.101895, 10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.101895
Willis, TDM, Smith, MW, Cross, DE, Hardy, AJ, Ettrich, GE, Malawo, H, Chalo, C, Sinkombo, M & Thomas, CJ 2022, 'Hydrodynamic Modeling of Inundation Patterns of a Large African Floodplain Indicates Sensitivity to Waterway Restoration', Water Resources Research, vol. 58, no. 11, e2021WR030107. 10.1029/2021WR030107, 10.6084/m9.figshare.20209799, 10.5281/zenodo.4073011
Hardy, A, Oakes, G, Hassan, J & Yussuf, Y 2022, 'Improved Use of Drone Imagery for Malaria Vector Control through Technology-Assisted Digitizing (TAD)', Remote Sensing, vol. 14, no. 2, 317. 10.3390/rs14020317
More publications on the Research Portal