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Technology use for climate change: tech solutions that could help 

&nbsp;The word LiDAR stands for Light Detection and Ranging, that is, using light to determine the range or distance of objects and surfaces.This enables&nbsp;extremely accurate and precise remote sensing up to the millimeter, and because it is actively emitting its own light, this can be done at day or night from the ground, air or even space.LiDAR systems work by sending hundreds of thousands of laser pulses every second, and because we know the speed of light and its refractive index, distance is measured by calculating the time it takes for light to go and return from its target.These laser pulses are usually in the 750 nm to 1500 nm (1.5 µm) wavelenghts and last less than a millisecond, so they are safe and invisible for all lifeforms — bees or cats are sensitive to light on the opposite side of the spectrum, ultraviolet, in the 300 nm to 400 nm range.If you know how a radar or sonar works, you can see lidar is the same principle but using different electromagnetic wavelengths, in this case, short-wave infrared light — that’s why some used to call it “light radar”.By using LiDAR we can create high resolution 3D point clouds that range from small objects to massive surfaces, such as forests and cities.Although LiDAR has been around in some form or another since 1961, development in the last decade has really opened up the possibilities and access to this amazing tool.We are starting to see scanners that are becoming smaller and more efficient, already being integrated into smartphones like Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro, while at the same time capacity and resolution for heavy-duty airborne LiDAR systems has gone up from 6 pts/m2 to over 100 pts/m2 in just a couple of years —&nbsp;a 17x increase!<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/lemu-web-dev/1_Q_Vw_u_ADM_4_S178n_WT_Ly_D9_Ww_8bf710af47/1_Q_Vw_u_ADM_4_S178n_WT_Ly_D9_Ww_8bf710af47.jpeg" alt="1_QVw-uADM4S178nWTLyD9Ww.jpeg" srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/lemu-web-dev/thumbnail_1_Q_Vw_u_ADM_4_S178n_WT_Ly_D9_Ww_8bf710af47/thumbnail_1_Q_Vw_u_ADM_4_S178n_WT_Ly_D9_Ww_8bf710af47.jpeg 245w,https://storage.googleapis.com/lemu-web-dev/small_1_Q_Vw_u_ADM_4_S178n_WT_Ly_D9_Ww_8bf710af47/small_1_Q_Vw_u_ADM_4_S178n_WT_Ly_D9_Ww_8bf710af47.jpeg 500w,https://storage.googleapis.com/lemu-web-dev/medium_1_Q_Vw_u_ADM_4_S178n_WT_Ly_D9_Ww_8bf710af47/medium_1_Q_Vw_u_ADM_4_S178n_WT_Ly_D9_Ww_8bf710af47.jpeg 750w," sizes="100vw"><figcaption>A point cloud of 183,183,314 points representing 100 hectares of Oncol Park captured using an aerial LiDAR scanner on an airplane — in this case a Teledyne Optech Galaxy scanner giving us roughly 20 pts/m².&nbsp;(cc by-nc-sa) Odd Industries, Oncol Park Natural Reserve in Chile, February 2021.</figcaption></figure><h2>Bringing nature online</h2>Although there are many applications and use cases in the industrial world, at Odd Industries our focus is on using LiDAR to understand our natural world.With this technology we can identify, measure and calculate things like canopy height, biomass, and leaf area of a forest biome.We can even go under the forest canopy to model the topography of the terrain, and see rivers and ravines of the basin.<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/lemu-web-dev/1_v_1_P_Nwg_Cx_x_Yd8_O_Pk3_Z5xg_1c3d1ca9f7/1_v_1_P_Nwg_Cx_x_Yd8_O_Pk3_Z5xg_1c3d1ca9f7.jpeg" alt="1_v-1PNwgCx-xYd8OPk3Z5xg.jpeg" srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/lemu-web-dev/thumbnail_1_v_1_P_Nwg_Cx_x_Yd8_O_Pk3_Z5xg_1c3d1ca9f7/thumbnail_1_v_1_P_Nwg_Cx_x_Yd8_O_Pk3_Z5xg_1c3d1ca9f7.jpeg 245w,https://storage.googleapis.com/lemu-web-dev/small_1_v_1_P_Nwg_Cx_x_Yd8_O_Pk3_Z5xg_1c3d1ca9f7/small_1_v_1_P_Nwg_Cx_x_Yd8_O_Pk3_Z5xg_1c3d1ca9f7.jpeg 500w,https://storage.googleapis.com/lemu-web-dev/medium_1_v_1_P_Nwg_Cx_x_Yd8_O_Pk3_Z5xg_1c3d1ca9f7/medium_1_v_1_P_Nwg_Cx_x_Yd8_O_Pk3_Z5xg_1c3d1ca9f7.jpeg 750w," sizes="100vw"><figcaption>A 1000 meter cross section of a point cloud taken at Oncol Park, you can start to see the forest for the trees — and the topography too!&nbsp;(cc by-nc-sa) Odd Industries, Oncol Park Natural Reserve in Chile, February 2021.</figcaption></figure>When coupled with artificial intelligence and deep learning artificial vision, we obtain detailed censuses of the number of trees and their biomass to help us decipher the amount of carbon captured from one season to the next, or distinguish species, detect patterns, and discover correlations.Mix LiDAR with hyperspectral and satellite imagery, and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Artificial vision gives us exponential improvement — and now we can do all of this efficiently at massive scale.

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What Is LiDAR And What Does Lemu Use It For

We are fortunate to live in a time when science and technology allow us to do the most amazing things imaginable. We are fortunate, also, to live on a planet with an extraordinary wealth of life forms — life that does not exist anywhere else in the universe (that we know of).We are, therefore, in the right place and at the right time to realize how lucky we are.We cannot waste these incredible tools and we cannot waste this extraordinary nature.Today we can use these incredibly sophisticated instruments that we have in our hands, take advantage of the collective intelligence enabled by hyperconnectivity, the innumerable sources of auditable and open data, the overwhelming research and scientific literature, the robust remote sensing mechanisms (such as satellite, hyperspectral or LiDAR imagery), to visibilize and help us value our natural world.That is why today with&nbsp;<a href="https://odd.co/">Odd Industries</a>&nbsp;we are announcing&nbsp;<a href="https://le.mu/">Lemu</a>, an atlas of the biosphere that uses the most advanced technology at our disposal to bring nature online, with the objective of helping reverse the environmental crisis.Lemu is a collection of countless geospatial data sources about nature, including satellite data, open data and collaborative citizen science data to identify, measure and understand the value that ecosystems generate every day.It is an overwhelming challenge and we can only achieve it by working together, which is why we are gathering the largest possible network of institutions or individuals from the public, private, academic, NGO or civil society, who are working for our planet.We want the conservation or restoration of ecosystems to stop being considered a philanthropic or charitable act and turn it into the best possible investment for the future of Earth.Lemu will open to the public in early 2023. For now, I invite you to sign up on our waiting list.

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Lemu says Hello

<ul><li>Lemu&nbsp;is an atlas of the biosphere that uses countless geospatial data sources and ethical-AI to help understand the value of the nature-based solutions our ecosystems generate each day.</li><li>Lemu Nge&nbsp;is the name of Lemu’s spacecraft and high-resolution hyperspectral imager that will be launched in 2023, focused on land cover and biodiversity observation.</li></ul>&nbsp;GLASGOW, SCOTLAND — Lemu, the world’s only atlas of the biosphere that aims to revert our environmental crises by making conservation and ecosystem restoration the best investment possible, today announced the launch of Lemu Nge in early 2023, a hyperspectral nano-satellite dedicated to biodiversity observation, in the context of the COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland.<blockquote>“Our ‘Space to Soil’ strategy starts with satellites, the only efficient way to measure all 51 billion hectares of Earth’s surface,” said Leo Prieto, founder and CEO of Lemu.</blockquote><blockquote>“From the very beginning it became obvious that in order to accelerate the development of our artificial vision models for Earth observation, we needed to have our own sensor in orbit. It had to be small — no bigger than a shoebox — in order to minimize the energy and emissions needed to get it into orbit, but at the same time it had to be more powerful than what was currently at our disposal, with flexibility for experimentation into the future. Today we are proud to announce, here at COP 26 in Glasgow, that Lemu Nge is finally being manufactured with a programmed launch date for early 2023.”</blockquote>Lemu Nge means “Forest Eye” in the mapudungun language, inheriting its name from the main payload, a high-resolution hyperspectral imager optimized for Earth observation. Its 32 bands in the 450 to 900nm spectral range and a ground sampling distance (GSD) resolution of 4.75m, will allow Lemu to segment land cover and vegetation biodiversity in unusual detail using artificial vision. This will be critical in helping reduce the deforestation and degradation of ecosystems, and increase the success of reforestation and restoration efforts, improving Lemu’s ability to precisely measure carbon sequestration and other nature-based solutions.<blockquote>“We value immensely the data provided by NASA and ESA’s satellites, and we don’t expect Lemu Nge to replace the variety and volume of geospatial data sources we are using today, something that must only continue to grow as data diversity helps us reduce bias.” says Sangeetha Narayan, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Lemu.“But for some of our most critical measurements, this satellite will provide us with more than 20x the resolution that is currently at our disposal. And just as we can access data others are sharing, we will also be making our data available to others in the nature conservation community.”</blockquote>Lemu Nge will have a software-defined Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), allowing it to achieve revisit rates from 1 to 7 days, thanks to its liquid metal ion thruster. This same propulsion system will also allow Lemu to safely deorbit the satellite when its mission completes, leaving no space debris behind and disintegrating the spacecraft into stardust.Lemu Nge is a 6U (6L) nano-satellite that will be designed and manufactured by NanoAvionics in Lithuania, with an imager supplied by Simera from South Africa, and launch provided by Space X on a reusable Falcon 9 rocket in the USA.<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/lemu-web-dev/2_Jkxze_Jy7w_Vxrfxh4s_Y7b_A_ad9af94220/2_Jkxze_Jy7w_Vxrfxh4s_Y7b_A_ad9af94220.jpeg" alt="2JkxzeJy7wVxrfxh4sY7bA.jpeg" srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/lemu-web-dev/thumbnail_2_Jkxze_Jy7w_Vxrfxh4s_Y7b_A_ad9af94220/thumbnail_2_Jkxze_Jy7w_Vxrfxh4s_Y7b_A_ad9af94220.jpeg 234w,https://storage.googleapis.com/lemu-web-dev/small_2_Jkxze_Jy7w_Vxrfxh4s_Y7b_A_ad9af94220/small_2_Jkxze_Jy7w_Vxrfxh4s_Y7b_A_ad9af94220.jpeg 500w,https://storage.googleapis.com/lemu-web-dev/medium_2_Jkxze_Jy7w_Vxrfxh4s_Y7b_A_ad9af94220/medium_2_Jkxze_Jy7w_Vxrfxh4s_Y7b_A_ad9af94220.jpeg 750w," sizes="100vw"><h2>About Lemu</h2>Lemu is an atlas of the biosphere that uses the most advanced technologies available to make conservation the best investment possible. Following a “Space to Soil” strategy that includes satellites and eDNA,&nbsp;Lemu uses ethical-AI to identify, measure and understand the value of our ecosystems’ nature-based solutions. Early invitations coming in late 2022.

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Lemu announces satellite dedicated to biodiversity observation at COP 26 in Glasgow

When we talk about sustainability, almost always the first thing we think about is reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reversing the climate crisis. But sustainability is not only relative to our emissions, it is also key that we focus on the ecological balance of nature and for that it is important to know and value the Earth’s biomes.<h2>But, what exactly is a biome?</h2>“Biome” is an ecological term created in the 20th century from the Greek root βιο (life) and the Greek suffix -ma (grouping).Biomes are the fundamental pillar for the balance of nature, since they correspond to certain areas or zones that, due to their geographical characteristics, share a climate, flora and fauna. Biome is a broader term than habitat; any biome can comprise a variety of habitats.In other words,&nbsp;it is a set of ecosystems where all the living beings that inhabit there are closely related to each other and to their environment. It is the climate, one of the geographical characteristics, that determines how many types of biomes exist in the world.We can find many classifications for biomes, among the most widely accepted criteria are Holdridge, Whittaker, Walter, Bailey and the WWF System, quantifying&nbsp;33 different types of biomes&nbsp;(14 terrestrial, 12 freshwater and 7 marine).At the same time, there is the most recognized and studied classification of all, which groups biomes in&nbsp;terrestrial&nbsp;(jungles, forests, grasslands, savannas, taiga, steppe, deserts and tundra) and&nbsp;marine&nbsp;(estuaries, streams, lagoons, lakes, coral reefs, oceans, seas and mangroves). In both cases, there are also&nbsp;anthropogenic&nbsp;classifications, or man-made biomes, such as settlements, villages, farmlands, grasslands, wooded and wild areas.Although it seems like a simple explanation, it is important to have this background in order to understand the importance of these biomes to the ecological balance between the different species that inhabit and co-inhabit them.<img src="https://i0.wp.com/miro.medium.com/max/875/1*MBV7hgDr1HCJSQsC_ac_Ew.jpeg?w=640&amp;ssl=1" alt="Mountain bear in a forest" loading="eager">Taiga is one type of biome that supports biodiversity<h2>Why are they so important? What is the value they deliver?</h2>When we speak of ecological balance, we refer to the incredible capacity that biomes have to satisfy and conserve the basic needs of life on the planet.&nbsp;Biomes allow the development of biological diversity, providing vital resources for subsistence such as oxygen, carbon and raw materials such as food or other products&nbsp;— a set of benefits called “ecosystem services”.It is everyone’s responsibility then, to provide care and maintenance of Biomes, ensuring a natural conservation of their characteristics and effectively educating the population on actions or measures that helps to accomplish this mission.In addition,&nbsp;technology has an increasingly leading role in helping the great challenges nature is facing, so it is key to apply it for conservation and to involve these and future generations in the urgency of their care.<img src="https://i0.wp.com/miro.medium.com/max/875/1*-zM8q3RZnwCmwHIOj6nflA.jpeg?w=640&amp;ssl=1" alt="Tropical forest landscape" loading="eager">At Odd Industries we are working to take advantage of the most advanced technology that exists today to develop tools that allow us to be able to measure the value of the ecosystem services of our biomes and help to reverse the environmental crisis that we are going through, but that’s something we’ll share more about very soon.

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The importance of biomes and the ecological balance of nature

<ul><li>Lemu&nbsp;is a biosphere atlas that uses geospatial data sources and ethical AI to help understand the value of the nature-based solutions that our ecosystems generate every day.</li><li>Lemu&nbsp;is the name of the mobile app for Android and iOS, available from January 11, 2022 via private beta for invite-only users.</li></ul>Lemu, an atlas of the biosphere that aims to reverse environmental crises by making conservation and ecosystem restoration the best investment possible, today announces the launch of its mobile app for iOS and Android.Three months after announcing the manufacturing of their nanosatellite “Lemu Nge” or “Eye of the Forest” at COP 26 in Glasgow, the startup decides to take a step further towards the ethical use of technology and data, facing the challenge of catalyzing thousands of individual and collective efforts into concrete actions to preserve our planet by safeguarding and restoring the environment.To this end, they are developing&nbsp;a mobile app that aims to help tackle and reverse environmental crises by bringing the natural world online. Inspired by nature and driven by science, Lemu’s app will focus on forest ecosystems, as they are home to 80% of terrestrial biodiversity, purify the air, and reduce desertification, implying a critical solution to at least 3 of the environmental crises: biodiversity, climate, and water crisis, which are deteriorating at an alarming rate.Although the application and its impact are projected on a global scale, for now it focuses on Chile’s forest ecosystems, as it is one of the few “forest positive” countries in the world, where the forest area is growing rather than shrinking, and where some of the few remaining primary forests in the world are concentrated, with large populations of individual trees exceeding 3,000 and even 4,000 years old.According to Leo Prieto, CEO and founder of Lemu, “This makes Chile an ideal natural laboratory to develop and optimize tools,” such as the Lemu application. “After forests and wetlands, grasslands and other biomes will follow, until we finally reach marine ecosystems, critically important but also the most difficult of all. Eventually we will apply our technology to all biomes,” he says.The first release of the mobile app for iOS and Android will take place this January 11, 2022, with invitation-only access being shared in user batches to those who have registered on the early access list.<img src="https://i0.wp.com/miro.medium.com/max/875/1*Rsijf_6GPIopSO69Eq8BIA.jpeg?w=640&amp;ssl=1" alt="Lemu APP exploration" loading="eager">Will have numerous data sources to collect and provide accurate information on ecosystems, their species and related conservation projects.<h2>What users will find in Lemu</h2>The application will be available in English, and will consist of two sections in its first stage of launch: atlas and explore. Through these, users will be able to find information on biodiversity and geo-referenced conservation projects related to each ecosystem.Based on a layered model, each ecosystem in the atlas will be divided into hexagons, as these allow for better tessellation of the surfaces. “Just at the touch of a button you can visualize the map with information related to, for example, carbon storage, biodiversity, land use types, among other variables” says Karol Henríquez, Product Manager at Lemu.In addition, it will have numerous data sources to collect and provide accurate information on ecosystems, their species and related conservation projects. As Karol Henríquez explains,<blockquote>“Much of the data we use for modeling comes from sources such as Aries or Google Earth Engine, but we also have our own sources that help us to better understand specific projects, so we have also been working with LiDAR measurements and environmental DNA analysis. We will even have our own satellite to continue enriching the information displayed in the app.”</blockquote>While the application will be enabled only for the first registered users in its early access, it is expected to be released to the general public in mid-2022, with more tools such as a personal profile and social network-like features to connect and interact with other enthusiasts, investors, and stewards.<h2>About Lemu</h2>Lemu is an atlas of the biosphere that uses the most advanced technologies available to make conservation the best possible investment. Following a “Space to Soil” strategy that includes everything from satellites to environmental DNA, Lemu uses ethical AI to identify, measure, and understand the value of nature-based solutions to ecosystems.Its app for iOS and Android will be available starting January 2022 for those users with an invitation and will open to the general public in mid-2022. Visit&nbsp;<a href="http://le.mu/">le.mu</a>&nbsp;for more information.<img src="https://i0.wp.com/miro.medium.com/max/875/1*K7a_ojNzzlprXUjCkwxkXA.jpeg?w=640&amp;ssl=1" alt="Lemu an APP to help nature restoration and conservation" loading="eager">While the application will be enabled only for the first registered users in its early access, it is expected to be released to the general public in mid-2022.

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Lemu launches app that allows exploration of the biosphere

<h1>Discovering Biodiversity Without Disturbance</h1>Environmental DNA, or eDNA, is the genetic material that organisms release into the environment. Environmental DNA is collected from various environmental samples such as soil, water, snow or even air, rather than taken directly from an individual organism.In short, eDNA is an accurate, sensitive and non-invasive biodiversity data collection method used to identify what types of organisms are or have recently been present in selected ecosystem samples, as well as to monitor and assess invasive species that may be altering or affecting natural ecosystems.As technology advances, the applications of environmental DNA in the study and protection of nature are also evolving. It is now possible to obtain even three times as many species as would be detected with traditional methods.Nerd fact: eDNA is a method that has even been used to confirm or demystify peculiar cases, such as the mysterious and legendary Loch Ness Monster, whose analysis of more than 250 water samples from around, in the center and in the depths of the loch, showed that it was not a “monster” but a considerable number of eels.Our <a href="https://bit.ly/3KFDf03">Data team</a> conducted a pilot test of eDNA samples from Parque Oncol, located in Valdivia, Chile, together with the team of Ecogen, a startup that develops technology-based research using environmental DNA to generate monitoring and evaluation plans of natural resources, in order to understand, preserve and restore a part of Chile’s biodiversity.Here’s what we’ve found. How do you get eDNA?Easy pie. The sample is extracted with a syringe that subtracts information from the water or soil. Then the DNA is subtracted and “washed” with isopropanol and ethanol so that it becomes visible.Briefly, these steps are followed:<ul><li>Environmental sample collector</li><li>DNA extraction</li><li>DNA amplification using universal partitioners and gene library generation</li><li>Massive high-throughput sequencing</li><li>Bioinformatics analysis</li><li>Species listing and obtaining amplification sequence variants</li><li>Ecological Analysis</li></ul>Environmental DNA has the potential to open up exciting and creative ways to learn about and help protect the wildlife around us. Here we tell you more about the pilot test we conducted at Parque Oncol and what we discovered in the samples.<h1>Parque Oncol: Why is it important to have information about its biodiversity?</h1>Parque Oncol is a protected wilderness area of 754 hectares located 28 km from Valdivia, Chile, and is an ancient area of high biological value due to its function as an interglacial climatic refuge -since it did not freeze, some of the species that remained here populated the rest of the territory-. This was our site of choice for our pilot test for 3 main reasons: 3 reasons why we took eDNA samples at Parque Oncol<ul><li>Oncol is part of the Valdivian Rainforest. A unique, one-of-its-kind ecosystem. It’s an evergreen and mixed rainforest, somehow similar to a tropical forest, but located in a temperate region.</li><li>Oncol is home to 3 different types of forests: 1) Tepu or Tepual forest 2) Tepa-Tineo-Mañío Forest. 3) Renovales de Canelo (young forest)</li><li>In Oncol there are more than 28 species of ferns, 9 species of amphibians and a diversity of birds, such as the Rayadito, Picaflor, Carpintero Grande, among many others. It is also the habitat of endemic mammals such as the recently discovered opossum, the puma, the pudú and the fox.</li></ul>With regard to climate change and possible biological invasions, having a good baseline makes it possible to monitor what is happening in the park and to understand what elements are pressuring the ecosystem, in order to take action through public and private policies according to the results obtained. Thanks to that we can understand, protect, and even restore native biodiversity in the area.<h1>Lemu &amp; Ecogen: eDNA results in Parque Oncol</h1>Through an exploratory analysis of remote environments within the park, close to camera traps for more representativeness, 0.25 mg of the selected samples were studied, being also the first time we tested this method in a conservation area.The results indicated the presence of 732 species, including fungi, invertebrates, amphibians, fish, birds, and mammals: 727 native species and 5 introduced species, (Fish: Oncorhynchus mykiss (Rainbow trout), Salmon trutta (Trout), Cyprinus carpio (Common carp). Mammals Bos taurus (Cow), Ovis aries (Sheep), Sus scrofa (Pig) and Rattus norvegicus (Norway rat).The overall species distribution was as follows:<ul><li>597 fungal species: The most prominent were ascomycota, basidiobolomycota, basidiomycota, chytridiomycota and mortierellomycota.</li><li>105 invertebrate species: The most prominent were Annelida, Arthropoda, Tardigrada, and Nematoda.</li><li>11 species of amphibians: Among them were Alsodes gargola, Eupsophus emiliopugini and batrachyla leptopus.</li><li>8 species of fish: Among them were Salmo trutta, brachygalaxias bullocki and oncorhynchus mykiss.</li><li>4 species of birds: Among them were Thraupidae and Passeriformes.</li><li>7 species of mammals: Among them were Pudu puda, Leopardus guigna and Bos taurus.</li></ul>The groups with the highest diversity were fungi in soil samples, while amphibians were found in water samples.As for amphibians, 4 species that had never been recorded before in Parque Oncol were found: 2 of them qualify as wide distribution, which means that their habitat extends over a wider territory than previously stipulated.The genetic results of the amphibians are still preliminary and must continue to be analyzed, since the taxonomic definition of the genus Alsodes (to which 3 of the 4 species found belong) is complex. Nevertheless, these are some data worth highlighting:<ul><li>Alsodes gargola, is a species described for Argentina mainly, but in 2012 they determined that 2 specimens collected near Futaleufú corresponded to A.garlola, so this record may be among the first for the species in Chile.</li><li>Alsodes tumultosus (La Parva spiny-breasted toad), known only from its type locality, La Parva. Our analysis represents an enormous extent of its distribution.</li><li>Alsodes verrucosus (Warty spiny-breasted toad). The only records in Chile correspond to the Type that Philippi in 1902, in the province of Cautín, and later in Wellington Island (in 1988) a specimen that is lost. The species is described for Argentina.</li><li>Eupsophus emiliopugini (*Green-eyed leaf-frog). Its distribution extends from Puyehue in the province of Osorno, to the province of Aysén. Therefore, this record would be an extension of its distribution to the north.</li></ul>The results show that the park offers a rich reservoir of diversity in fungi, invertebrates and amphibians, fish, birds and mammals. These results are striking and call for more intensive field surveys both for genetic sampling and for finding live specimens.Despite the good news regarding native species, we had the unfortunate surprise of having found many invasive fish species. It is not only worrying because they have been introduced by humans, but also because of their adaptability and high efficiency as predators, which is killing the smaller native species.Likewise, the presence of amphibians — whose distribution had not been contemplated in that area, surprises us and urges us to continue investigating the habitat and the relationship of these species with their environment.<h1>Conclusions</h1>Thanks to eDNA we can go deeper into the ecosystems and continue exploring biodiversity in order to understand and preserve it.Undoubtedly, what the human eye perceives falls short of what the DNA sampling is able to capture, which is s pleasant surprise.EDNA is a non-invasive method that allows us to better understand our ecosystems and even discover relationships between the environment and species, which are always changing and constantly evolving. Given its importance in conservation and environmental restoration, we will continue to invest time and resources and will give more advances of the next eDNA tests.<a href="https://bit.ly/3KFDf03">Let’s not waste nature’s unique potential. Let’s take care of it as the treasure it is.</a>If you want to know more details about our eDNA sampling pilot, feel free to send an email to <a href="mailto:hello@le.mu">hello@le.mu</a> and we will be glad to answer your questions.

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We conducted a eDNA pilot test at Parque Oncol — Here’s what we discovered

Perhaps the first image that comes to mind when you think of a satellite is that of a huge, heavy device made of sophisticated materials. But not all of them are like that.They range in size from a Rubik’s cube to the size of a bus, and can orbit the planet because they are catapulted on trajectories that are fast enough to overcome gravity (at least for a while). A satellite starts operating when a rocket carries it into space and, once the determined location is reached, releases the satellite into orbit.According to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (<a href="https://www.unoosa.org/">UNOOSA</a>) Index of Objects Launched into Outer Space, there are 4,921 satellites currently orbiting.<h1>What is the function of satellites in orbit?</h1>Orbiting satellites around the Earth perform multiple functions including:<ul><li>Communications (we see this in the coverage and data transfer of our devices).</li><li>Earth observation, navigation and positioning (the well-known GPS system).</li><li>Space and planetary studies(vegetation, climatic phenomena, thermal mapping, maximum vegetation peaks, carbon levels, etc).</li></ul><h1>Satellites for environmental purposes</h1>Satellite technology is also a great ally in the study of the Earth and its phenomena. Through remote sensing sensors it is possible to collect data and capture images invisible to the human eye, which can be used to analyze and understand the importance of the balance of ecosystems and help mitigate the environmental crisis.We created a short list of satellites that have been key to the analysis and understanding of our planet:<h1>The Terra</h1>The Terra satellite was launched into orbit by NASA in 1999. It was the first of the Earth Observing System (EOS) program and its objective was to perform the first complete health check of the planet Earth, in particular, the study of the functioning of the carbon and energy cycles.Terra has four sensors that measure specific aspects such as:<ul><li><a href="http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/">ASTER</a>: used to obtain detailed maps of the Earth’s surface temperature, reflectance and elevation.</li><li><a href="http://terra.nasa.gov/About/CERES/">CERES</a>: Measures the Earth’s global radiation balance and also provides data on cloud properties and their role in the radiation fluxes from the Earth’s surface to the upper atmosphere.</li><li><a href="http://terra.nasa.gov/About/MISR/">MISR</a>: Scans the Earth’s surface with nine cameras, each pointed at a different viewing angle to distinguish different types of clouds and land surface cover. Its images <a href="https://blog.le.mu/c%C3%B3mo-ver-lo-invisible-im%C3%A1genes-hiperespectrales-2109e0c321e9">make it possible to see the invisible in four bands: blue, green, red, and near infrared</a>.</li><li><a href="http://terra.nasa.gov/About/MODIS/">MODIS</a>: Scans every point on the planet every 1–2 days in 36 spectral bands. Thanks to this broad capture capability, this sensor senses more of the Earth’s vital signs than other sensors on the same satellite. Among other things, MODIS measures every day the percentage of the Earth’s surface covered by clouds and detects emissions from fires.</li><li><a href="http://terra.nasa.gov/About/MOPITT/">MOPITT</a>: Captures data from the troposphere and observes its interaction with the marine and terrestrial biosphere. MOPITT data will be used to study the distribution, transport and sources of carbon monoxide and methane in the troposphere.</li></ul><h1>Landsat 8</h1>The Landsat mission offers different satellite images at different times and resolutions. From Landsat 1 to 8, instruments such as Multispectral Scanner Sensor (MSS), Thematic Mapping (TM), Enhanced Thematic Mapping Plus, (ETM+), Operational Land Imaging (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIS) are available in summary, these instruments allow the following:<ul><li>Coastal and aerosol survey</li><li>Bathymetric mapping, which distinguishes soil from vegetation and deciduous from coniferous vegetations.</li><li>Highlights peaks of maximum vegetation, which are useful for assessing plant vigor</li><li>Distinguishes vegetation slopes</li><li>Highlights biomass content and shorelines</li><li>Distinguishes soil and vegetation moisture</li><li>Improved soil moisture and vegetation reading and penetration through thin clouds</li><li>15-meter resolution, sharper image definition</li><li>Improved detection of cirrus cloud contamination</li><li>100 meter resolution, thermal mapping and soil moisture estimates</li></ul><h1>The EO-1</h1>The last of the list is the first satellite of NASA’s Earth observation program for the new millennium. Launched on November 21, 2000, it is the continuation of the Landsat missions.The EO-1 satellite has three remote sensing sensors:<ul><li>ALI: Land Imager.</li><li>Hyperion: It is the first satellite hyperspectral sensor. It captures the colors of the images of the Earth’s surface without leaving uncovered areas, it has the ability to discriminate images, such as the difference between pine and cedar trees.</li><li>LEISA/AC: It is a set of technologies that captures hyperspectral images. As images transmitted by satellites are distorted by gases in the atmosphere, the AC (atmospheric corrector) restores the images to their original form.</li></ul><h1>What happens when a satellite completes its life cycle?</h1>Once a satellite has served its purpose, it begins to lose altitude and fall. Generally, most end up disintegrating in the atmosphere; others, usually farther away from the atmosphere, are taken to another orbit.Depending on how close to the atmosphere the satellite is located, its lifetime can be up to 15 years according to <a href="https://www.unoosa.org/pdf/publications/STSPACE11S.pdf">international agreements</a>, with the exception of extraordinary cases such as the Hubble telescope, which was launched in 1990 and is still in orbit.<h1>Who can launch a satellite?</h1>At present, everyone. It is not a simple process, nor is it cheap, but it is a possibility that has been opening up to the public in recent years.<blockquote>“Generally, companies that launch a satellite hire another company to help them with monitoring and data management. They provide ongoing operational support and take the satellite out of orbit at the end of its life cycle,” says Zachary Cohen, Strategy Associate at Odd Industries.</blockquote><h1>What about people’s privacy and satellite surveillance?</h1>The resolution of the images that satellites can capture ranges, for the most part, from 5 to 30 meters from an orbit of 400km altitude, meaning that each pixel in the image measures 5x5m.This means that the resolution of most satellites cannot identify people or animals of smaller or similar size (you would have to be a person of more than 25 m2 to be distinguished by the satellite as anything more than a pixel!).However, there are some satellites with resolutions of less than 30cm (usually for military purposes), so the responsible, ethical and informed use of these technologies is critical for people’s privacy.If you are interested in learning more about the ethical and responsible use of satellites, and how they can help to understand, analyze, and revert environmental crises, we invite you to sign up for Lemu’s early access and be among the first to hear about environmental solutions and news by logging on to <a href="https://le.mu/">Le.mu</a>.

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Satellites: The Silent Sentinels of Earth

<h1>A Key For Tackling the Environmental Crisis</h1>Concern about carbon emissions and the possible actions that companies and governments have in their agenda have increased considerably during the previous months. The triple environmental crises have regained presence in conversations of world leaders.We surely are aware by now of eco-friendly alternatives to our daily life choices, organic foods, sustainable clothing, and zero waste gadgets. These solutions are indeed helpful, yet not enough for tackling the environmental crises.We’re probably less aware of how technology can help us protect, restore, and, regenerate nature — the most valuable asset on Earth.Technology can help save the planet.And nature now needs tech support, too.Nature-tech, which combines a handful of technologic solutions, can measure, track, and help ecosystems thrive. Let’s go into detail below.<h1>AI &amp; Forests: An Odd Match</h1>Most of us wouldn’t imagine this could make a good combination because of the bias towards it. So let’s talk about how it started.Reforestation is not a new topic for environmental programs, but the efficient use of technology in reforestation is. Many companies have decided to reorient their industries towards what we now call “Climate Tech”, which is simply to increase productivity in any research, measurement, and analysis process required in soil reforestation.Nature tech was born out of Climate tech. According to <a href="http://natureforclimate.org/">NatureforClimate.org</a>, Nature tech, in its broadest sense, is high-tech applications that enable, accelerate and scale-up NbS (as for Nature-based Solutions), covering the following areas:<ul><li>Technology to deploy NbS, such as LiDAR technology for reforestation</li><li>Technology to monitor, verify and report on NbS such as satellite monitoring and DNA testing</li><li>Technology to improve transparency around NbS</li><li>Technology to connect people and conservation projects involved in NbS</li></ul>In short, nature tech aims to protect, sustainably manage, and restore ecosystem services, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits.<h1>The Answer is in the Trees</h1>On average, a tree absorbs between 10kg and 30kg of CO2 per year, therefore, 22 trees are required to supply the oxygen demand of only one person a day.The application of nature tech can help forests in the reduction and compensation of CO2, since trees are an important source for reducing and offsetting the emissions generated by their deforestation. Returning the real value to the trees should be essential in any environmental program that helps combat the environmental crises we face today. Therefore, nature tech and NbS are the key to environmental action in today’s society.<h1>Algorithm of the Forest</h1>Many see nature and technology as polar opposites, and by extension believe that “ecological” and “technological” solutions to global crises exist in conflict.It’s not just about technology alone: although a great tool, we know it cannot solve everything at once.It all counts: From small, individual actions like eating organic food to zero waste products, to nature-tech solutions that help accelerate and scale up NbS at a bigger scale. We believe all are key to improve the health of our biosphere.We believe technology and nature can work together, instead of against one another.Through our atlas of the biosphere we use a collection of algorithms called LemuRank that unleashes the planet’s natural capital to demonstrate that the conservation and restoration of ecosystems are the best possible investment for the future of Earth.We cannot waste the potential of technology, and we cannot waste this unique nature.If you want to know more about how we’re tackling the environmental crisis, feel free to sign up in our early access in <a href="http://le.mu/">le.mu</a>

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AI & Forests: An Odd Match

Human beings have always been attracted to discovering the secrets of the natural world.Thousands of years ago, travelers were guided by the sun and stars to know where they were and where they were going, then Scandinavian sailors used sunstones and rudimentary compasses. As the invention of magnetic compasses came along, everything quickly evolved into today’s GPS systems.Today, we can not only discover and study nature through our eyes, but also through Earth observation, navigation and positioning technologies (the well-known GPS system), thermal, vegetation and weather mapping satellites, just to name a few. These technologies allow us to perceive what we cannot see or feel with our senses, since they cover a whole range of spectra that are invisible and intangible to human capabilities.Curiously, we are just beginning to take advantage of technology to understand the wonderful complexity of the biosphere: nature is still a mysterious, imposing, and impregnable place.Ecosystems such as the dense and impenetrable rainforest harbors species about which little or nothing is yet known due to its inaccessibility: even after thousands of years of expeditions, road marks, compasses and satellites, we still cannot fully fathom the magnitude of their importance in the delicate balance of life. &nbsp;<h2>New technologies, new species</h2>In general, it is scientists who are constantly discovering, studying and preserving new species in the field, but in an ecosystem as complex as the rainforest, this becomes a titanic task.A clear example of this is the recent announcement of the discovery of <a href="https://www.elmostrador.cl/dia/2021/03/24/descubren-poblacion-desconocida-de-monito-del-monte-en-la-region-del-maule/">a new species of opossum — “chumaihuén” or “monito del monte” as locals call them—, in the southern region of Chile</a>, (Dromiciops bozinovici) the only living representative of the order Microbiotheria, an ancestral group of Australian marsupials. This fact would have gone unnoticed had it not been for the camera traps and satellite technologies that were installed to support scientists in the study of the Valdivian rainforest, the monkey’s habitat.This may be a good reason, among many others, to find new ways to link technology and nature and understand them as an ally in the conservation and protection of ecosystems and all the species that inhabit them.<h1>An Atlas of the Biosphere</h1>From sunstones, compasses, and GPS, we learned that there is still much to discover and study, that we are just another species on the planet, and that the importance of life lies in respecting the biosphere as a whole.We find that the ethical use of satellite technology is one of the ways we can help discover and preserve unique species on Earth, as well as collect data on ecosystems in a non-invasive way: from understanding their geographic location, to the characteristics of the soil and vegetation of habitats, to discover how a given species interacts with its environment and where its territory extends to.<blockquote>“Satellite-based remote sensing data complement field data by adding three important aspects: scale, temporal resolution and speed. Satellite imagery provides us with millions of measurements across the globe and over time. This allows for a much more comprehensive analysis of ecosystems.The possibility of near-real-time measurement also allows for quicker action in response to threats such as fires or natural disasters — for example, the monitoring of the ongoing volcanic explosion on the Canary Islands,” says Sangeetha Narayan, Product Manager at Odd Industries.</blockquote>We believe that investing in conservation is the best tool to understand the power of nature, uncover its secrets, and preserve its value to tackle the environmental crisis. That’s why we developed an atlas of the biosphere: a collection of maps, geospatial data and algorithms that will help us understand and protect species ranging from the Chilean bush monkey to fungi and bacteria that still remain unknown, all part of the only living planet we know of so far.We are looking forward to showcasing the development of our atlas, so we invite you to <a href="https://le.mu/">sign up for early access here</a> and find out more about bringing the wild world to as many people as possible.Let’s not waste the potential of technology, let’s not waste this opportunity to support the conservation and restoration of this irreplaceable nature.