Key details
Dr Meredith Williams
Senior Lecturer, GIS and Remote Sensing
Dr Meredith Williams was awarded a BSc Hons in geological sciences by the University of Birmingham in 1990, and began his career as a geologist in the offshore oil industry. He has been active in remote sensing research since 1992, gaining an MSc in applied remote sensing from Cranfield University in 1993 and a PhD from Aberystwyth University in 2003.
He spent much of the 1990s at Scott Polar Research Institute (University of Cambridge) and the Centre for Glaciology (Aberystwyth University), working on a range of Russian Arctic projects using satellite imagery to monitor vegetation changes in tundra regions, and characterise glacierised area ice dynamics in the High Arctic.
In 2000 he joined Newcastle University as a lecturer in remote sensing, where he continued his involvement in glaciological remote sensing, including the Earthwatch 'Iceland Glaciers' project. led by Professor Andy Russell, and research in Greenland. His vegetation research expanded to non-tundra vegetation applications, in particular hyperspectral vegetation stress monitoring, working with partners such a Shell International Exploration & Production. He supervised a wide range of PhD projects, and diversified into other remote sensing applications including the use of LiDAR imagery for mapping flood impacts and the calibration/validation of optical imagery.
In September 2010 he joined the Centre for GIS and Remote Sensing at University of Greenwich as a senior lecturer.
Responsibilities within the university
Course leader
- Introduction to Remote Sensing
- Advanced Image Processing
- GIS and Remote Sensing Field Course
- Remote Sensing – Dissertation.
Recognition
Professional bodies
- Elected Council member and trustee of the Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society (RSPSoc) 2004–10
- Chair of the RSPSoc Technical Programme Committee September 2005–10
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) since 2008
- Member of the Remote Sensing Society / RSPSoc since 1996.
Research / Scholarly interests
Areas of expertise
- VIS-SWIR multispectral/hyperspectral remote sensing for mapping and monitoring of vegetation. Particular interests include hyperspectral remote sensing for vegetation stress detection, and multi-sensor remote sensing solutions for land use management. At Cambridge University, Dr Williams worked on EU Framework programme projects investigating the potential of satellite remote sensing for time-series monitoring of the impacts of industrial pollution and overgrazing on Russian Arctic tundra vegetation in the Kola Peninsula and Siberia. Since 2000 his interests have broadened to encompass hyperspectral remote sensing of vegetation for a wide range of academic and commercial applications, including hyperspectral detection of soil disturbances, and regional scale mapping of desertification and salinisation.
- Glacierised area ice dynamics. Dr Williams has many years experience in remote sensing of glacierised areas, and the associated fieldwork techniques. From 1996–2003 he studied glacierised area ice dynamics in the Russian High Arctic, and in recent years has carried out fieldwork in Iceland and Greenland.
- Calibration and Validation of Earth Observation datasets. In 2006 he was involved in the NERC Network for Calibration and Validation of Earth Observation (www.ncaveo.ac.uk) Chilbolton experiment, and maintains an interest in radiometric calibration, particularly for high Latitude imagery.
- Geological and geomorphological applications of remote sensing.
Key funded projects
Recent grants
- NERC NCEO Mission Support Scheme (2010). Ungauged basins: River Discharge from Remote Sensing. PI: C.G.Kilsby, Co-I M. Williams
- ESA Contract CIP.7014 (2010). The use of remote sensing data to estimate river discharge in ungauged basins. 09/2009. PI P Moore, Co-I M. Williams
- NERC Small Grant NE/G011141/1 (2008) The September 2008 floods on the River Coquet, Northumberland: Characteristics and immediate impact on river morphology. Co-I
- NERC Airborne Remote Sensing Facility (ARSF) data grant IPY07-12 (2007). An evaluation of VIS-SWIR reflectance correction approaches for high latitude glaciated environments, Skeiðarárjökull & Skeiðarársandur, SE Iceland. PI
- NERC ARSF data grant IPY07-13 (2007). Airborne LiDAR for characterisation of ice-marginal landscape change and proglacial fluvial response to rapid glacier retreat, Skeiðarárjökull, Iceland. Co-I.
Recent publications
Article
Mullerova, Daniela and , Williams, Meredith (2019), Satellite monitoring of thermal performance in smart urban designs. MDPI. In: , , , . MDPI, Remote Sensing, 11 (19) . pp. 2244 ISSN: 2072-4292 (Print), (doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs11192244).
Igun, Eghosa and , Williams, Meredith (2018), Impact of urban land cover change on land surface temperature. Iran Solid Waste Association. In: , , , . Iran Solid Waste Association, Global Journal of Environmental Science and Management, 4: 5 (1) . pp. 47-58 ISSN: 2383-3572 (Print), 2383-3866 (Online) (doi: http://www.gjesm.net/article_27798.html) NB Item availability restricted.