The European Association of Remote Sensing (EARSeL) is one of the premier conferences on imaging spectroscopy for Earth observation in Europe and worldwide. I attended the 13th EARSeL Workshop on Imaging Spectroscopy in València to gain further impetus for my thesis and network with other (early career) scientists. Due to the focus on PRISMA and EnMAP data, I have presented my results on spectral unmixing. This method allows the decomposition of the signal of a mixed pixel into its subpixel components (known as endmembers). The main aim was to show how the low-resolution (30 m) but hyperspectral images from the EnMAP mission (224 bands) can be used to detect T. landbeckii, a plant species endemic to the Atacama Desert. The unmixing process has become increasingly important in recent years due to the emergence of new satellites, which also played a dominant role at the conference.
The conference took place in the heart of the beautiful old town of Valéncia (absolutely recommended to visit). While the first two poster sessions on days one and two always took place at the end of the day, I was scheduled for the last day directly after the lunch break. After I had put a lot of effort into my poster and also prepared a short pitch, I was a little disappointed with the poster room. It was too small to accommodate the number of interested people. Unfortunately, there was no time for a pitch due to time constraints. Nevertheless, I had some great chats with scientists from ‘Deutsche GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ)’, who dedicated their work to EnMAP data as well as I do. We could exchange our opinions on the reliability and usage of my work. In addition to conversing with established scientists during the breaks, I also connected with many early career researchers, e.g. from Spain, Canada, and Italy. The absolute highlight was the dinner. In a cozy atmosphere, I had excellent conversations with other scientists at large round tables. The conference was rounded off by a voluntary half-day workshop on April 19th on the topic of the EnMAP-Box, a Python-based QGIS plugin for hyperspectral data analysis. All in all, it was an extraordinary experience for me to present my results on an international stage, and I am already looking forward to the next conference, which will take place in Finland in 2026.

Fabian Reddig
PhD student
Institute of Geography
PhD project: “Scale issues in remote sensing of vegetation”
Poster title: “The Invisible Plant: Spectral Feature Analysis Of Tillandsia Landbeckii In The Atacama Desert