We want you! Funded MSc study!

Satellite image enhancement and North Atlantic right whales detection.

There are only around 370 North Atlantic right whales left in the world. In Canada, we're reducing human-caused risks to these whales by making changes to fishing and shipping in areas where whales are found. But to do so efficiently, we need information on their whereabouts. Satellites have a role to play here, because the whales are big enough to be seen from space.

We are looking for a bright and highly motivated MSc student to do research that will help operationalize space-based whale detection through a project done in collaboration with a range of interested parties from academia, government, and the private sector. Building on previous research by Matus Hodul (https://lnkd.in/gjuCba_T), the student will work to 1) enhance raw SkySat imagery from Planet and 2) build an AI-based whale detection model to identify North Atlantic right whales in such imagery.

The ideal candidate has:

- A bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline

- Strong coding skills, with a focus on image processing

- The ability to write technical documents clearly and concisely in English

- Very strong motivation to succeed, and persistence in the face of challenges

- An ability to work in a team, and independently, as required

It's a big ocean, and whales may be big, but from space they're actually pretty small and hard to find. The one seen in a satellite image below, named "Ruffian", has already been entangled in fishing gear multiple times, and has the scars to prove it (see the bright white line running across his body around 2/5 of the way from his head to his fluke). He and the rest of the population need your help. If you're interested, please get in touch with Dr. Anders Knudby aknudby@uottawa.ca.