Peatlands, the Untold Heroes of our Planet, and how to use AI to monitor them from 780km into Space

Peatlands -- a wetland ecosystem found in all continents -- play a fundamental role in global carbon sequestration, water storage and filtering, biodiversity preservation, and lately even national defence. Monitoring peatlands is very important, but this is difficult over large areas through traditional measures.

The AI2Peat project might have found a viable solution to this challenge by combining high-resolution satellite imagery, artificial intelligence, advanced computation and, last but not least, domain expertise.

The project leaders join THE ART+SCIENCE SALON in the Irish Embassy in Berlin for a special interview to embark on a journey not only within the eco-hydrological/technological domains, but broaching topics such as evidence-based policy making, Ireland’s relationship with its land, nature-centric regulations, climate change mitigation, and much more!

The Embassy is located just off Berlin’s Gendarmenmarkt at Jägerstraße 51 and can be easily reached by public transport. The U-Bahnhof (metro) station “Hausvogteiplatz” (U2 line) is just a few minutes’ walk from Embassy.

How to reach the embassy from:

• Berlin U-Bahn (Metro) network: Take U2 line to Hausvogteiplatz Station. Follow the signs for the “Taubenstraße” exit and walk ca. 150m west to Gendarmenmarkt, turn right on Markgrafenstraße, walk ca. 50m, and then turn right again onto Jägerstraße.
• Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Central Rail Station): Take eastbound S-Bahn to Alexanderplatz Station (all eastbound S-Bahn trains from Hauptbahnhof stop at Alexanderplatz). At Alexanderplatz take the U2 line to Hausvogteiplatz.
• Berlin-Brandenburg Airport: Take S9 (Direction S Blankenburg) to Schönhauser Allee. From there take U2 line to Hausvogteiplatz.