Dr Elias Symeonakis
Dr Elias Symeonakis
Reader in Earth Observation and GIS
My profile
Biography
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS
2015: PGCert in Academic Practice, Manchester Met, UK
2001: PhD in Geography, King’s College London, UK
1997: MSc Geographical Information Systems, University College London, UK
1995: BEng Surveying Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
CURRENT & PREVIOUS APPOINTMENTS
2020 - present: Reader in Earth Observation & GIS (UK)
2014 - 2020: Senior Lecturer in GIS & the Environment, Manchester Met (UK)
2011 - 2014: Lecturer in GIS & the Environment, Manchester Met (UK)
2008 - 2011: Lecturer in Geographical Analysis, University of the Aegean (Greece)
2005 - 2007: Marie Curie Postdoctoral Research Fellow, CSIRO (Australia)
2002 - 2004: Marie Curie Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Valencia (Spain)
2001 - 2002: Visiting Research Fellow, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT/CGIAR) (Colombia)
RESEARCH OVERVIEW
My research focus is in the field of Remote Sensing of Land Degradation. It is driven by the desire to combine state-of-the-art Earth Observation technologies, AI algorithms and open access data to derive impactful products that can guide the development of mitigation strategies, especially in countries where resources are scarce. I provide valuable input to policy makers at the local, regional and national scales, review intergovernmental panel reports, present evidence to UN meetings and make recommendations that are having a significant effect in efforts to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality by 2030.
Interests and expertise
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Land use/land cover mapping, monitoring & modelling
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Land degradation & desertification over sub-Saharan African & Mediterranean environments
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Savannah vegetation monitoring
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Habitat monitoring & fragmentation analysis
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Surface runoff & soil erosion modelling
Impact
Our work on the optimisation of tse-tse fly eradication programmes in Zambia (Symeonakis et al. 2007) focused on the problem of the presence of the fly in areas with a high agricultural and livestock development potential. We used GIS and decision support tools along with remote sensing and other environmental data, to identify infested areas where trypanosomiasis control can provide relief to nearby tsetse-free, but heavily ‘pressured’, land. The proposed methodology was tested by the Zambian Environmental Management Agency in an area near Nyimba. The results suggested that, whilst in the short-term, policies based on the conservation of ecosystem services are less profitable, the sustainability and long-term benefits of such approaches should also be considered.
Through my involvement in the UNDP Lake Tanganyika Biodiversity Project as a member of the Sedimentation Special Study group, we produced the first ever estimates of sedimentation rates for the Lake, with high deforestation rates, identified though state-of-the-art Remote Sensing technologies, as the main cause for concern. Our findings are used by all riparian states to guide their decision making process with regards to reversing land degradation in the region. These mitigation actions have direct benefits for millions of some of the world’s poorest populations: local fishermen, agricultural and pastoral communities in Burundi, the D.R of Congo, Tanzania and Zambia.
Our paper “Monitoring Desertification and Land Degradation over Sub-Saharan Africa”, published in the International Journal of Remote Sensing in 2004 (Symeonakis and Drake, 2004), triggered four distinct citation chains.
Projects
MAJOR FUNDED PROJECTS
2022-2024: EU H2020 Marie Curie ‘SAV-EO’ Project: “Land Degradation Neutrality: Towards an Earth Observation-based Early Warning System for Savannah Degradation”
2021-2022: Leverhulme International Fellowship ‘SCALE’ Project: ”diSentangling the Climate chAnge-Land degradation nExus”
2019-2025: EU H2020 Marie Curie ‘PantEOn’ Project: “Spatio-temporal pattern analysis for eco-hydro-geomorphological connectivity assessment with multiscale Earth Observation”
2019-2023: Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grant: “Using glaciers to identify, monitor, and predict volcanic activity”
2018: British Council/Newton Fund
2017-2018: Natural England, “From Space to Eye Lens: Monitoring protected sites with Earth Observation”
2015: Natural England “Regional scale wetland management”
2015: People’s Trust for Endangered Species
2015: Shearwater Foundation
2014-2018: EU FP7 Marie Curie Career Integration Grant, ‘LanDDApp’ Project: “Land Degradation and Desertification Appraisal for Southern African Savannahs”
2009-2013: EU FP7 Marie Curie IRSES Project ‘COMPASS’ (Institutional Coordinator for the University of the Aegean)
2005-2008: EU FP6 Marie Curie Outgoing International Fellowship (‘Monitoring Land Use’ Project)
2002-2004: EU FP5 Marie Curie R30 Individual Fellowship
2001-2002: The British Council
1999-2000: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (Lake Tanganyika Biodiversity Project)
The Remote Sensing Research Group is currently involved in a number of other externally funded projects related with the monitoring of land cover and of Earth surface processes. For more details, visit our website at www.remote-sensing-mmu.org.
Teaching
TEACHING
Unit Coordination:
6F4Z3118: Introducing GIS
6F4Z3119: Cartography and Remote Sensing
6F7Z3103: Earth Observation and GI Technologies
6F7Z1050: Earth Observation & GIS.
6F7Z1032: GIS Remote Sensing for Conservation (new MSc Course with the College of African Wildlife Management)
Joint Contribution:
6F4Z3113: Global Environmental Issues
6F6Z3107: Environmental Remote Sensing & GIS
6F6ZXXXX: Tropical Ecology &Conservation
6Z6Z3001: Project
Supervision
Current PhD students:
Iliya Nababa, Carlos Bedson, Michael Martin, Joana Borges, Lucy Millington
Recent PhD completions:
Joseph Nwachukwu, Jacqui Morrison, Chris Harrison, Yiannis Kougkoulos, Thomas Higginbottom
Post-doc researchers:
Dr Eva Arnau-Rosalén, EU Marie-Curie Fellow
Dr Christina Karakizi, EU Marie-Curie Fellow
Dr Joseph Mallalieu, Leverhulme Trust-funded project
Research outputs
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Chapters in books
Vafeidis, A.T., Abdulla, A.A., Bondeau, A., Brotons, L., Ludwig, R., Portman, M., Reimann, L., Vousdoukas, M., Xoplaki, E., Aroua, N., Behr, L., Dottori, F., Garrabou, J., Giannakopoulos, C., Rohat, G., Symeonakis, E. (2020) 'Managing future risks and building socio-ecological resilience.' In Cramer, W., Guiot, J., Marini, K. (ed.) Climate and Environmental Change in the Mediterranean Basin – Current Situation and Risks for the Future. Union for the Mediterranean, Plan Bleu, UNEP/MAP, pp. 539-588.
Drake, N., Zhang, X., Symeonakis, E., Wooster, M., Patterson, G., Bryant, R. (2005) 'Near Real-Time Modelling of Regional Scale Soil Erosion Using AVHRR and METEOSAT Data: A Tool for Monitoring the Impact of Sediment Yield on the Biodiversity of Lake Tanganyika.' Spatial Modelling of the Terrestrial Environment. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp. 157-174.
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Reports
Higginbottom, T., Field, C., Keane, R., Wright, A., Jones, L., Symeonakis, I., Caporn, S. (2018) From Space to Eye Lens: Monitoring protected sites with Earth Observation: Combining field data with CASI and Sentinel imagery. Manchester Metropolitan University.
Symeonakis, I. (2018) Final Report: A Land Degradation and Desertification Appraisal System for South Africa (LanDDApp).
Vafeidis, A., Sterr, H., Hinkel, J., Symeonakis, I., Schnack, E., Scalise, A., Fucks, E., Szlafsztein, C., Ferreira de França, C., Morales, M., Avagiannou, T. (2013) Final Report Summary - COMPASS (Comparative Assessment of Coastal Vulnerability to Sea-Level Rise at Continental Scale). European Commission.
Drake, N., Wooster, M., Symeonakis, I., Zhang, X. (2001) Lake Tanganyika Biodiversity Project Special Study on Sediment Discharge and its Consequences: Soil Erosion Modelling in the Lake Tanganyika Catchment.
Manikowski, S., Gundlig, L. (2000) Pollution Control and Other Measures to Protect Biodiversity in Lake Tanganyika Project: Terminal Evaluation RAF/92/G32. Global Environment Facility.
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Journal articles
Mallalieu, J., Barr, I., Spagnolo, M., Mullan, D., Symeonakis, E., Edwards, B., Martin, M. (2024) 'Proximity to active volcanoes enhances glacier velocity.' Communications Earth & Environment, 5(1)
Borges, J., Symeonakis, E., Higginbottom, T.P., Jones, M., Cain, B., Kisingo, A., Maige, D., Oliver, O., Lobora, A.L. (2024) 'Assessing habitat suitability: the case of black rhino in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.' Remote Sensing, 16(15)
Elisa, M., Caro, T., Yon, L., Hardy, I., Roberts, S., Symeonakis, E. (2024) 'Wildlife corridor degradation and human‐wildlife conflict: a case study from Tanzania.' African Journal of Ecology, 62(2)
Gwynn, V., Symeonakis, E. (2022) 'Rule-based habitat suitability modelling for the reintroduction of the grey wolf (Canis lupus) in Scotland.' PLoS One, 17(10) pp. e0265293-e0265293.
Borges, J., Higginbottom, T.P., Cain, B., Gadiye, D.E., Kisingo, A., Jones, M., Symeonakis, E. (2022) 'Landsat time series reveal forest loss and woody encroachment in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania.' Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation, 8(6) pp. 808-826.
Morrison, J., Omengo, F., Jones, M., Symeonakis, E., Walker, S.L., Cain, B. (2022) 'Estimating elephant density using motion-sensitive cameras: challenges, opportunities, and parameters for consideration.' Journal of Wildlife Management, 86(4) pp. e22203-e22203.
Symeonakis, E. (2022) 'Land Degradation Assessment with Earth Observation.' Remote Sensing, 14(8) pp. 1776-1776.
Martin, M.D., Barr, I., Edwards, B., Spagnolo, M., Vajedian, S., Symeonakis, E. (2021) 'Assessing the Use of Optical Satellite Images to Detect Volcanic Impacts on Glacier Surface Morphology.' Remote Sensing, 13(17)
Bedson, C.P.E., Devenish, C., Symeonakis, E., Mallon, D., Reid, N., Harris, W.E., Preziosi, R. (2021) 'Splitting hares: Current and future ecological niches predicted as distinctly different for two congeneric lagomorphs.' Acta Oecologica, 111pp. 103742-103742.
Harris, W.E., De Kort, S., Bettridge, C., Borges, J., Cain, B., Dulle, H., Fyumagwa, R., Gadiye, D., Jones, M., Kahana, L., Kibebe, J., Kideghesho, J.R., Kimario, F.F., Kisingo, A., Makari, F., Martin, E., Martin, A., Masuruli, M.B., Melubo, K., Mossman, H., Munishi, L., Mwaya, R., Nasi, R., Nyakunga, O., Price, E., Shoo, R.A., Strange, E.F., Symeonakis, E., Fa, J. (2021) 'A Learning Networks approach to resolve conservation challenges in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.' African Journal of Ecology, 59(1) pp. 326-331.
Calvo-Cases, A., Arnau-Rosalén, E., Boix-Fayos, C., Estrany, J., Roxo, M.J., Symeonakis, E. (2021) 'Eco-geomorphological connectivity and coupling interactions at hillslope scale in drylands: Concepts and critical examples.' Journal of Arid Environments, 186
Borges, J., Higginbottom, T.P., Symeonakis, E., Jones, M. (2020) 'Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 Data for Savannah Land Cover Mapping: Optimising the Combination of Sensors and Seasons.' Remote Sensing, 12(23) pp. 3862-3862.
Nababa, I.I., Symeonakis, E., Koukoulas, S., Higginbottom, T.P., Cavan, G., Marsden, S. (2020) 'Land Cover Dynamics and Mangrove Degradation in the Niger Delta Region.' Remote Sensing, 12(21) pp. 3619-3619.
Symeonakis, E., Korkofigkas, A., Vamvoukakis, G., Stamou, G., Arnau-Rosalen, E. (2020) 'Deep Learning Monitoring of Woody Vegetation Density in a South African Savannah Region.' International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences - ISPRS Archives, 43pp. 1645-1649.
Higginbottom, T.P., Symeonakis, E. (2020) 'Identifying Ecosystem Function Shifts in Africa Using Breakpoint Analysis of Long-Term NDVI and RUE Data.' Remote Sensing, 12(11) pp. 1894-1894.
Gosling, P.C., Symeonakis, E. (2020) 'Automated map projection selection for GIS.' Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 47(3) pp. 261-276.
Smetanová, A., Nunes, J.P., Symeonakis, E., Brevik, E., Schindelwolf, M., Ciampalini, R. (2019) 'GUEST EDITORIAL—SPECIAL ISSUE: Mapping and modelling soil erosion to address societal challenges in a changing world.' Land Degradation and Development, 31(17) pp. 2519-2524.
Zaimes, G.N., Gounaridis, D., Symeonakis, E. (2019) 'Assessing the impact of dams on riparian and deltaic vegetation using remotely-sensed vegetation indices and Random Forests modelling.' Ecological Indicators, 103pp. 630-641.
Symeonakis, E. (2019) 'Holding back the bushes: Earth Observation for monitoring and preventing land degradation.' EU Research, pp. 34-35.
Gounaridis, D., Chorianopoulos, I., Symeonakis, E., Koukoulas, S. (2019) 'A Random Forest-Cellular Automata modelling approach to explore future land use/cover change in Attica (Greece), under different socio-economic realities and scales.' Science of the Total Environment, 646pp. 320-335.
Higginbottom, T.P., Collar, N.J., Symeonakis, E., Marsden, S.J. (2018) 'Deforestation dynamics in an endemic-rich mountain system: Conservation successes and challenges in West Java 1990–2015.' Biological Conservation, 229pp. 152-159.
Higginbottom, T.P., Field, C.D., Rosenburgh, A.E., Wright, A., Symeonakis, E., Caporn, S.J.M. (2018) 'High-resolution wetness index mapping: A useful tool for regional scale wetland management.' Ecological Informatics, 48pp. 89-96.
Kougkoulos, I., Cook, S.J., Edwards, L.A., Clarke, L.J., Symeonakis, E., Dortch, J.M., Nesbitt, K. (2018) 'Modelling glacial lake outburst flood impacts in the Bolivian Andes.' Natural Hazards, 94(3)
Morrison, J., Higginbottom, T.P., Symeonakis, E., Jones, M.J., Omengo, F., Walker, S.L., Cain, B. (2018) 'Detecting vegetation change in response to confining elephants in forests using MODIS time-series and BFAST.' Remote Sensing, 10(7)
Gounaridis, D., Symeonakis, E., Chorianopoulos, I., Koukoulas, S. (2018) 'Incorporating density in spatiotemporal land use/cover change patterns: The case of Attica, Greece.' Remote Sensing, 10(7) pp. 1-18.
Symeonakis, I., Higginbottom, T., Meyer, H., van der Linden, S. (2018) 'Mapping Woody Cover in Semi-arid Savannahs using Multi-seasonal Composites from Landsat Data.' ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing,
Kougkoulos, I., Cook, S., Jomelli, V., Clarke, L., Symeonakis, I., Dortch, J., Edwards, L., Merad, M. (2018) 'Use of multi-criteria decision analysis to identify potentially dangerous glacial lakes.' Science of the Total Environment, 621pp. 1453-1466.
Symeonakis, I., Higginbottom, T., Petroulaki, K., Rabe, A. (2018) 'Optimisation of savannah land cover characterisation with optical and SAR data.' Remote Sensing, 10(4) pp. 499-499.
Higginbottom, T., Symeonakis, E., Meyer, H., van der Linden, S. (2018) 'Mapping fractional woody cover in semi-arid savannahs using multi-seasonal composites from Landsat data.' ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 139pp. 88-102.
Symeonakis, E., Petroulaki, K., Higginbottom, T. (2016) 'Landsat-based woody vegetation cover monitoring in Southern African savannahs.' The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, 41pp. 563-567.
Symeonakis, E., Caccetta, P.A., Wallace, J.F., Arnau-Rosalen, E., Calvo-Cases, A., Koukoulas, S. (2015) 'Multi-temporal Forest Cover Change and Forest Density Trend Detection in a Mediterranean Environment.' Land Degradation and Development, 28(4) pp. 1188-1198.
Symeonakis, E., Karathanasis, N., Koukoulas, S., Panagopoulos, G. (2014) 'Monitoring sensitivity to land degradation and desertification with the environmentally sensitive area index: the case of Lesvos island.' Land Degradation and Development, 27(6) pp. 1562-1573.
Higginbottom, T.P., Symeonakis, E. (2014) 'Assessing Land Degradation and Desertification Using Vegetation Index Data: Current Frameworks and Future Directions.' Remote Sensing, 6
Payne, R.J., Symeonakis, E. (2012) 'The spatial extent of tephra deposition and environmental impacts from the 1912 Novarupta eruption.' Bulletin of Volcanology, 74(10) pp. 2449-2458.
Symeonakis, E., Caccetta, P., Koukoulas, S., Furby, S., Karathanasis, N. (2011) 'Multi-temporal land-cover classification and change analysis with conditional probability networks: the case of Lesvos Island (Greece).' International Journal of Remote Sensing, 33(13) pp. 4075-4093.
Symeonakis, E., Drake, N. (2010) '10-Daily soil erosion modelling over sub-Saharan Africa.' Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 161(1-4) pp. 369-387.
Symeonakis, E., Bonifaçio, R., Drake, N. (2009) 'A comparison of rainfall estimation techniques for sub-Saharan Africa.' International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 11(1) pp. 15-26.
Frattaruolo, F., Pennetta, L., Piccarreta, M., Le Houérou, H.N., Marshall, A., Symeonakis, E., Drake, N., Zhou, L., Zhang, J., Wu, J. (2009) 'PLANTING TREES FOR THE RECLAMATION OF DESERT LANDS.' Journal of Maps, 5(1) pp. 117-125.
Symeonakis, E., Calvo-Cases, A., Arnau-Rosalen, E. (2007) 'Land Use Change and Land Degradation in Southeastern Mediterranean Spain.' Environmental Management, 40(1) pp. 80-94.
Symeonakis, E., Robinson, T., Drake, N. (2007) 'GIS and multiple-criteria evaluation for the optimisation of tsetse fly eradication programmes.' Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 124(1-3) pp. 89-103.
Symeonakis, E., Drake, N. (2004) 'Monitoring desertification and land degradation over sub-Saharan Africa.' International Journal of Remote Sensing, 25(3) pp. 573-592.
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Conference papers
Karakizi, C., Okujeni, A., Sofikiti, E., Tsironis, V., Psalta, A., Karantzalos, K., Hostert, P., Symeonakis, E. (2024) 'Mapping Savannah Woody Vegetation at the Species Level with Multispectral Drone and Hyperspectral EnMAP Data.' 7/7/2024 - 12/7/2024. IEEE,
Karakizi, C., Gounari, O., Sofikiti, E., Begkos, G., Karantzalos, K., Symeonakis, E. (2023) 'Assessing the Contribution of Optical and SAR Data for Fractional Savannah Woody Vegetation Mapping.' 2023-July. pp. 3118-3121.
Symeonakis, E., Korkofigkas, A., Higginbottom, T., Boyd, J., Arnau-Rosalen, E., Stamou, G., Karantzalos, K. (2022) 'Towards a Deep Learning Fractional Woody Vegetation Cover Monitoring Framework.' 2022-July. pp. 5905-5908.
Nwachukwu, J., Clarke, L., Brearley, F., Symeonakis, E. (2019) 'Assessment of the sources and human health risk of nitrate contaminated groundwater and effective groundwater governance in a sub-Saharan urban setting (Owerri, south east Nigeria)..' In Geological SOciety of American Annual Conference. Phoenix, Arizona, 22/9/2019 - 25/9/2019.
Symeonakis, I., Korkofigkas, A., Vamvoukakis, G., Stamou, G. (2019) 'A deep-learning approach for multi-temporal savannah woody vegetation density assessment with Earth Observation data.' In EGU General Assembly 2019. 21. Vienna, Austria, 7/4/2019 - 12/4/2019.
Higginbottom, T., Symeonakis, I. (2019) 'Downscaling GIMMS3g NDVI-based biomass predictions using empirical orthogonal teleconnections.' 12/3/2019 - 14/3/2019.
Arnau, E., Boix, C., Symeonakis, I., Calvo, A. (2019) 'Soil surface spatial heterogeneity along hillslopes under inspection: a 1D approach.' In Geoecology and Desertification International Symposium. Almeria, Spain, 20/2/2019 - 22/2/2019.
Higginbottom, T., Symeonakis, I. (2019) 'Enhancing NDVI-Based Biomass Models Through Feature Selection and Spatiotemporal Cross-Validation.' In European Space Agency Living Planet Symposium. Milan, Italy, 13/5/2019 - 17/5/2019.
Symeonakis, I., Higginbottom, T. (2019) 'Carbon Fertilisation is the Primary Driver of Shrub Encroachment in South African Savannahs.' In European Space Agency Living Planet Symposium. Milan, Italy, 13/5/2019 - 17/5/2019.
Symeonakis, I., Higginbottom, T. (2019) 'Pervasive Greening of African Savannahs from 1982 - 2016.' In European Space Agency Living Planet Symposium. Milan, Italy, 13/5/2019 - 17/5/2019.
Symeonakis, I., Veron, S., Baldi, G., Banchero, S., de Abelleyra, D., Castellanos, G. (2019) 'Savannah land cover characterisation: a quality assessment using Sentinel 1/2, Landsat, PALSAR and PlanetScope.' In Living Planet Symposium. Milan, Italy, 13/5/2019 - 17/5/2019.
Symeonakis, I., Higginbottom, T., Collar, N., Marsden, S. (2018) 'Deforestation dynamics in an endemic-rich mountain system: conservation successes and challenges in West Java 1990-2015.' In 4th Open Science Meeting of the Global Land Programme. Bern, Switzerland, 24/4/2019 - 26/4/2019.
Arnau, E., Calsamiglia, A., Calvo, A., Estrany, J., Symeonakis, I. (2018) 'Cartografía semi-automática de terrazas de cultivo a partir de datos LiDAR.' In XVIII Congreso Nacional TIG. Valencia, Spain, 20/6/2018 - 22/6/2018.
Kougkoulos, I., Cook, S., Clarke, L., Symeonakis, I., Edwards, L., Dortch, J. (2018) 'Volumetric changes of glaciers in the Bolivian Andes between 1986 and 2017.' In EGU General Assembly. 20. Vienna, Austria, 8/4/2018 - 13/4/2018. EGU,
Kougkoulos, I., Clarke, L., Cook, S., Dortch, J., Edwards, L., Jomelli, V., Merad, M., Symeonakis, I. (2018) 'Glacial lake outburst flood risk in the Bolivian Andes.' In EGU General Assembly 2018. Vienna, Austria, 8/4/2018 - 13/4/2018. EGU,
Higginbottom, T., Symeonakis, I., Meyer, H. (2017) 'Mapping fractional woody cover in semi-arid savannahs: data mining bulk-processed Landsat and ALOS PALSAR data.' In 37th International Symposium of Remote Sensing of Environment. Tshwane, South Africa, 8/5/2017 - 12/5/2017.
Higginbottom, T., Collar, N., Symeonakis, I., Marsden, S. (2017) 'All forests are not equal: Quantifying the biodiversity value of remnant mountain forests in Java, Indonesia..' In 37th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment. Tshwane, South Africa, 8/5/2017 - 12/5/2017.
Symeonakis, I., Marques-Mateu, A. (2017) 'Optimisation of savannah fractional woody vegetation cover mapping using optical and radar data.' In 37th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment. Tshwane, South Africa, 8/5/2017 - 12/5/2017.
Kougkoulos, I., Cook, S., Jomeli, V., Clarke, L., Symeonakis, I., Dortch, J., Edwards, L., Merad, M. (2017) 'Remote assessment of glacial lake outburst flood risk using multi-criteria decision analysis.' In EGU General Assembly 2017. Vienna, Austria, 23/4/2017 - 28/4/2017. EGU,
Symeonakis, I., Brearley, J. (2017) 'Assessing and monitoring soil erosion and environmental sensitivity in Malta.' In EGU General Assembly 2017. Vienna, Austria, 23/4/2017 - 28/4/2017. EGU,
Symeonakis, I., Brearley, J. (2017) 'Assessing and monitoring soil erosion and land degradation in Malta.'
Higginbottom, T., Symeonakis, I. (2017) 'Distribution and drivers of woody cover change in Southern African savannahs, 1984-2014.' In EGU General Assembly 2017. Vienna, Austria, 23/4/2017 - 28/4/2017. EGU,
Kougkoulos, I., Cook, S., Jomelli, V., Clarke, L., Symeonakis, I. (2017) 'Assessing glacial lake outburst flood risk..' In EGU General Assembly. Vienna, Austria, 23/4/2017 - 28/4/2017. EGU,
Higginbottom, T., Symeonakis, I. (2017) 'Shrub Encroachment in South African Savannahs: a CO2 Fertilisation Effect?.' In EGU General Assembly. Vienna, Austria, 23/4/2017 - 28/4/2017.
Symeonakis, I., Karantzalos, K., van den Berg, E., Kellner, K. (2017) 'Ultra-high resolution sampling with UAVs for optimising fractional woody cover characterisations in dryland savannahs.' In European Space Agency WorldCover 2017 Symposium. Frascati, Italy, 14/3/2017 - 16/3/2017. European Space Agency (ESA),
Symeonakis, I., Petroulaki, K., Higginbottom, T., Marques-Mateu, A. (2017) 'Optimisation of regional scale woody vegetation cover mapping with optical, thermal and radar data.' In European Space Agency WorldCover 2017. Frascati, Italy, 14/3/2017 - 16/3/2107. ESA,
Symeonakis, I., Marques-Mateu, A., Petroulaki, K., Higginbottom, T. (2017) 'Savannah fractional woody vegetation cover mapping with optical and radar data and machine learning.' In EGU General Assembly 2017. Vienna, Austria, 23/4/2017 - 28/4/2017.
Symeonakis, E. (2016) 'Modelling land cover change in a Mediterranean environment using Random Forests and a multi-layer neural network model.' In 2016 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS). Beijing, China, 10/7/2016 - 15/7/2016. IEEE, pp. 5464-5466.
Symeonakis, I., Petroulaki, K., Higginbottom, T. (2016) 'Landsat-based woody vegetation cover monitoring in southern African savannahs.' In 23rd ISPRS Congress. Prague, Czech Republic, 12/7/2016 - 19/7/2016.
Symeonakis, I. (2016) 'MODELLING LAND COVER CHANGE IN A MEDITERRANEAN ENVIRONMENT USING RANDOM FORESTS AND A MULTI-LAYER NEURAL NETWORK MODEL.' 10/7/2016 - 15/7/2016.
Symeonakis, I., Petroulaki, K., Higginbottom, T., Marques-Mateu, A. (2016) 'Optimisation of Woody Vegetation Cover Mapping with Optical, Thermal and Radar data.' In European Space Agency Living Planet Symposium. Prague, Czech Republic, 9/5/2016 - 13/5/2016.
Symeonakis, I., Higginbottom, T., Petroulaki, K. (2016) 'Woody vegetation cover monitoring with multi-temporal Landsat data and Random Forests: the case of the Northwest Province (South Africa).' In EGU General Assembly 2016. Vienna, Austria, 17/4/2016 - 22/4/2016. EGU,
Symeonakis, I. (2015) 'Multi-temporal Soil Erosion Modelling over the Mt Kenya Region with Multi-Sensor Earth Observation Data.' In EGU General Assembly 2015. Vienna, Austria, 12/4/2015 - 17/4/2015. EGU,
Symeonakis, I., Harris, W.E. (2015) 'Monitoring Land Degradation & Desertification in Lesvos Island with the ESAI & Multiway Data Analysis.' In UNCCD 3rd Scientific Conference. Cancun, Mexico, 9/3/2015 - 12/3/2015. United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD),
Higginbottom, T., Symeonakis, I. (2014) 'UNCOUPLING ANTHROPOGENIC AND CLIMATIC DRIVEN LAND DEGRADATION: AN APPLICATION OF GEOGRAPHICALLY WEIGHTED REGRESSION TO THE SAHEL.' 13/7/2014 - 18/7/2014.
Symeonakis, I., Harris, W.E. (2014) 'Land degradation and desertification monitoring using a multivariate statistical approach.' In EGU General Assembly. Vienna, Austria, 14/4/2014 - 2/5/2014. EGU,
Symeonakis, I., Harris, W.E. (2014) 'Land degradation and desertification monitoring using a multivariate statistical approach.'
Symeonakis, E., Higginbottom, T. (2014) 'BUSH ENCROACHMENT MONITORING USING MULTI-TEMPORAL LANDSAT DATA AND RANDOM FORESTS.' In ISPRS Technical Commission II Symposium. XL-2. Toronto, Canada, 6/10/2014 - 8/10/2014.
Higginbottom, T., Symeonakis, I. (2013) 'Modelling precipitation and anthropogenic influence on vegetation productivity trends in the African Sahel.' In 33rd Annual Symposium of the European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories. Matera, Italy, 3/6/2013 - 6/6/2013. http://www.earsel.org/symposia/2013-symposium-Matera/index.php,
Symeonakis, E., Caccetta, P.A., Arnau-Rosalen, E., Wallace, J.F., Calvo-Cases, A. (2008) 'MULTI-TEMPORAL WOODY PERENNIAL VEGETATION COVER CHANGE DETECTION.' In Earth Conference. Mytilene, Greece, 1/6/2008 - 6/6/2008.
Symeonakis, E., Karathanasis, N., Furby, S., Gatsis, I. (2008) 'Mapping post-olympics urban use change in the periphery of athens using multi-temporal pixel-based and segmentation techniques.' 37. pp. 1675-1680.
Koukoulas, S., Vafeidis, A.T., Vafeidis, G., Symeonakis, E. (2008) 'The role of spatial metrics on the performance of an artificial neural-network based model for land use change.' 37. pp. 1661-1665.
Symeonakis, E., Caccetta, P., Furby, S., Wallace, J., Koukoulas, S. (2007) 'Mapping land use change using conditional probability networks: A case study in the Mediterranean island of Lesbos.' In Proceedings, 32nd International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment: Sustainable Development Through Global Earth Observations.
Symeonakis, E., Bonifacio, R., Drake, N. (2007) 'A comparison of number-of-rain-days estimation techniques for continental hydrological modelling.' In International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS). pp. 4542-4545.
Symeonakis, E., Caccetta, P.A., Wallace, J.F., Koukoulas, S. (2006) 'Multi-temporal land use/cover change detection in the Spanish Mediterranean coast.' 36.
Symeonakis, E., Koukoulas, S., Calvo-Cases, A., Arnau-Rosalen, E., Makris, I. (2004) 'A landuse change and land degradation study in Spain and Greece using remote sensing and GIS.'
Symeonakis, E., Bonifacio, R., Drake, N. (2000) 'Validation of satellite and rain-gauge data for parameterising a soil erosion model for Sub-Saharan Africa.' 33. pp. 215-222.
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Theses and dissertations
Symeonakis, E. (2001) Soil erosion modelling over sub Saharan Africa using remote sensing and geographical information systems.
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Posters
Symeonakis, I., Higginbottom, T. 'Multi-temporal Soil Erosion Modelling over the Mt Kenya Region with Multi-Sensor Earth Observation Data.' [Poster]
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Other
Mallalieu, J., Barr, I., Martin, M., Symeonakis, E., Edwards, B., Spagnolo, M., Mullen, D. (2023) An exploration of volcanic controls on glacier velocity.
Career history
2020 - present
Reader in Earth Observation & GIS (UK)
2014 - 2020
Senior Lecturer in GIS & the Environment, Manchester Met (UK)
2011 - 2014
Lecturer in GIS & the Environment, Manchester Met (UK)
2008 - 2011
Lecturer in Geographical Analysis, University of the Aegean (Greece)
2005 - 2007
Marie Curie Postdoctoral Research Fellow, CSIRO (Australia)
2002 - 2004
Marie Curie Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Valencia (Spain)
2001 - 2002
Visiting Research Fellow, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT/CGIAR) (Colombia)
Press and media
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October 2017: BBC, Wildfires in the Iberian Peninsula
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November 2017: BBC, Flash floods in Greece
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July 2018: BBC, Wildfires in Greece
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July 2018: ERT (Greece), Wildfires in Greece
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October 2018: TRT World, the 1.5° IPCC Report
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November 2018: TRT World, the 2018 Annual Review by the World Meteorological Organisation (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBJtjbU8HBQ)
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December 2019: TRT World, the EU Climate Talks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDm1oBBclts&ab_channel=TRTWorldNow)
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July 2020: TRT World, Global temperatures will break the 1.5C threshold over the next five years (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEPo6L_NhgE&ab_channel=TRTWorldNow)
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February 2021: TRT World, Climate migration (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVgE2PdhMO4&ab_channel=TRTWorldNow)
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August 2021: The Financial Times, “Spain counts cost of agribusiness in rising desertification” (https://www.ft.com/content/0d38e8d3-3f20-4818-8751-740d05f8ac13)
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November 2021: TRT World, What happens if net zero emissions are not reached by 2050 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOCDLdJDqgo&ab_channel=TRTWorldNow)
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March 2022: The Sunday Times, “Bring back carnivore ‘to wolf down the deer’ in Scotland” (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bring-back-carnivore-wolf-down-deer-scotland-qqqxp0t3d)
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March 2022: The Telegraph, “Reintroducing wolves to Scotland after 400 years ‘would help control deer numbers’ ” (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/03/13/reintroducing-wolves-scotland-400-years-would-help-control-deer/)