Rain-triggered Hazards and Disaster Risks on Volcanoes in Indonesia and Japan
PI: Prof. Christopher Gomez
(under multiple fundings and collaborations nationally and internationally)
Volcanoes attract the attention when they go with a bang, and then scientists slowly look away for the next explosion or eruption. I am interested in the hazards and disaster risk in the period that starts from the eruption and then that continues when the volcano tries to act like a simple mountain. During this period the material stock changes, landslides and debris-flow take the relay with more complex temporality. The objective of the research is thus to quantify and understand disaster risk of lahars, landslides and other types of flooding occuring from and on volcanoes. We investigate these issues in Japan and in Indonesia, where heavy rainfalls, typhoons and snowmelt water (Hokkaido) makes for the perfect open laboratories, while also being instrumental in the local sustainability and resilience.
Multispectral UAV Approaches for Early Identification of Rice Diseases and Pests Infestations in Java, Indonesia (2025 -)
PI: Dr. Aditya SAPUTRA (UMS, Indonesia)
co-PI: Prof. Christopher Gomez (KU, Japan)
Early detection of the health of rice plants is essential for preventing crop loss, improving resource efficiency, and enhancing yield and quality. Identifying diseases and Pests early allows farmers to implement targeted treatments, reduce chemical use, and optimize resource allocation, leading to cost savings and higher productivity. This approach supports sustainable farming by minimizing environmental impact and preserving soil health. Multispectral UAVs detect distinctive spectral signatures from unhealthy rice plants, revealing changes in colour, reflectance, or stress. Diseases often cause discoloration or reduced chlorophyll content, visible through Near Infra-Red (NIR) and light reflectance. Similarly, pest infestations alter plant reflectance patterns. By analysing this spectral data, areas with stressed plants or symptoms of disease or pest damage can be precisely identified, allowing for early targeted interventions like pesticide or fertilizer application before significant damage occurs. The objective of the research is to identify rice diseases and pests infestations in the southeast flank of Merapi Volcano. We hypothesis that analysing the ratio of reflected light in different spectral bands will reveal the presence of diseases or pests. The methods used include integrated remote sensing techniques to obtain reflectance data, field observation to identify physiological symptoms, and laboratory analysis to conduct detailed disease diagnosis.
