Research services

Tender description

Tenderers are invited to set out proposals to assess the feasibility of using Earth Observation (remote sensing data in combination with reference data) to track land use change in the United Kingdom over time. This work aims to support a decision by BEIS to develop a more accurate and repeatable way for the UK to track land use change in its greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory. The work is: —to assess the feasibility of methods of using Earth Observation to track UK land use and land use change over time; and —to develop a costed roadmap for delivering an operational system for tracking land use and land use changes in the UK from 1990 onwards suitable for incorporation in the inventory. The work will be tendered as three (3) lots. —Lot 1: Coarse resolution optical sensors (>250m resolution), —Lot 2: Medium resolution optical sensors (10-80m resolution), —Lot 3: Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors and SAR+optical data fusion. Lot 1. Given the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) requirement for remote sensing to be coupled with reference data, BEIS wishes to understand how land use can be tracked using the wide range of potential reference datasets present in the UK. Hence, the work is separated into Lots that will enable a range of different satellite sensors and reference datasets to be demonstrated. —Lot 1: Coarse resolution optical sensors (>250m resolution). Within each Lot, contractors may choose the most appropriate satellite data, reference data and analytical methods, taking account of the research questions and methodological considerations below. Analyses should take into account the land use categories used in the UK's LULUCF inventory when assigning particular land covers to land uses. Lot 2. Given the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) requirement for remote sensing to be coupled with reference data, BEIS wishes to understand how land use can be tracked using the wide range of potential reference datasets present in the UK. Hence, the work is separated into Lots that will enable a range of different satellite sensors and reference datasets to be demonstrated. —Lot 2: Medium resolution optical sensors (10-80m resolution). Within each Lot, contractors may choose the most appropriate satellite data, reference data and analytical methods, taking account of the research questions and methodological considerations below. Analyses should take into account the land use categories used in the UK's LULUCF inventory when assigning particular land covers to land uses. Lot 3. Given the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) requirement for remote sensing to be coupled with reference data, BEIS wishes to understand how land use can be tracked using the wide range of potential reference datasets present in the UK. Hence, the work is separated into Lots that will enable a range of different satellite sensors and reference datasets to be demonstrated. —Lot 3: Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors and SAR+optical data fusion. Within each Lot, contractors may choose the most appropriate satellite data, reference data and analytical methods, taking account of the research questions and methodological considerations below. Analyses should take into account the land use categories used in the UK's LULUCF inventory when assigning particular land covers to land uses.