Dr William Woodgate

UQ Amplify Lecturer

School of the Environment
Faculty of Science
w.woodgate@uq.edu.au
+61 7 334 67022

Overview

Will is a University of Queensland Amplify Research Fellow and recent ARC DECRA holder (DE190101182). His research aims to bridge scales for remotely sensing dynamic vegetation productivity and health. Will is the Principal Investigator of the CSIRO/TERN-OzFlux Tumbarumba tall forest research site. Now in its 23rd year it is one of Australia’s longest continuously running flux tower sites and rated equal second globally for verification of environmental satellite products [1]. Previously Will held the position of Research Scientist at CSIRO, after commencing as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in 2015.

Will has experience with a range of passive and active remote sensing technologies including combining LiDAR, optical- and thermal-imagery for estimating vegetation structure and function. His current research focuses on scaling observations of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) from leaf to canopy scales at flux tower sites.

Take a look at available Higher Degree student Research Projects in the 'Available Projects' tab

Please also feel free to get in touch with Will to discuss potential collaborations.

[1] Camacho, F., Román, M.O., Nickeson, J., Göttsche, F.-M., Ducanson, L., Sanchez-Azofeifa, G.A., Woodgate, W., Karan, M., Descalzo, L.d.l.M., & Monzo, C.D. (2018). Proposition of CEOS LPV Super Sites for Validation of Biophysical Satellite Products. Paper presented at the ESA LPVE - Land Product Validation and Evolution 2018, ESA/ESRIN, Frascati, Italy. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.10375.50087

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology

Publications

  • Matthews, Mark W., Dekker, Arnold, Price, Ian, Drayson, Nathan, Pease, Joshua, Antoine, David, Anstee, Janet, Sharp, Robert, Woodgate, William, Phinn, Stuart and Gensemer, Stephen (2023). Demonstration of a Modular Prototype End-to-End Simulator for Aquatic Remote Sensing Applications. Sensors, 23 (18) ARTN 7824, 7824. doi: 10.3390/s23187824

  • Zhang, Weijie, Jung, Martin, Migliavacca, Mirco, Poyatos, Rafael, Miralles, Diego G., El-Madany, Tarek S., Galvagno, Marta, Carrara, Arnaud, Arriga, Nicola, Ibrom, Andreas, Mammarella, Ivan, Papale, Dario, Cleverly, Jamie R., Liddell, Michael, Wohlfahrt, Georg, Markwitz, Christian, Mauder, Matthias, Paul-Limoges, Eugenie, Schmidt, Marius, Wolf, Sebastian, Brümmer, Christian, Arain, M. Altaf, Fares, Silvano, Kato, Tomomichi, Ardö, Jonas, Oechel, Walter, Hanson, Chad, Korkiakoski, Mika, Biraud, Sébastien ... Nelson, Jacob A. (2023). The effect of relative humidity on eddy covariance latent heat flux measurements and its implication for partitioning into transpiration and evaporation. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 330 109305, 1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2022.109305

  • Bhattacharya, Bimal K., Mallick, Kaniska, Desai, Devansh, Bhat, Ganapati S., Morrison, Ross, Clevery, Jamie R., Woodgate, William, Beringer, Jason, Cawse-Nicholson, Kerry, Ma, Siyan, Verfaillie, Joseph and Baldocchi, Dennis (2022). A coupled ground heat flux–surface energy balance model of evaporation using thermal remote sensing observations. Biogeosciences, 19 (23), 5521-5551. doi: 10.5194/bg-19-5521-2022

View all Publications

Supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

  • Doctor Philosophy

  • Doctor Philosophy

View all Supervision

Available Projects

  • We are looking for someone with good quantitative skills, across numerical analyses and coding to play a key role in a project that will use new forms of satellite image data to monitor and look after the earth’s environments.

    The project will develop links to science and space agencies in Australia and globally and provides a career path to a range of options in data analytics in earth observation.

    The ideal candidate does not require a background in plant ecology or physiology, but does require strong numerical analysis and coding skills.

    The ideal candiate will also have publications that will strengthen their ability to secure a UQ scholarship.

    Working Title: Spectral scaling of dynamic plant function

    Aim

    The broad aim is to establish a more direct link between optical satellite earth observation (EO) data and plant productivity and health monitoring. Optical sensing methods, including the new sun-induced fluorescence (SIF) signal show great promise yet are largely unexplored in Australian conditions. SIF is a photon flux emitted by chlorophyll of plants following absorption of sunlight. The SIF signal, detectable by specialised optical sensors, provides a near-instantaneous proxy for the plants photosynthetic activity - useful for detecting a response to environmental stressors such as water shortage or excess heat.

    At present scaling effects of the optical signal from the leaf to canopy are not well understood. Specifically, the aim is to characterise scaling effects caused by plant structure and composition across a subset of Australian ecosystems, both native and agricultural.

    Method

    Radiative transfer models can be explored that simulate the effect of leaf and canopy structure on the wavelength-dependent radiative fluxes measured by satellites. These models are a powerful tool to understand plant-light interactions from any type of optical sensor.

    Significance

    Algorithms and methods can be developed to use and analyse newly available Earth Observation data from airborne and satellite platforms to more accurately and reliably map and monitor photosynthesis and plant primary productivity (i.e. CO2 uptake). Remotely sensed data has preferential benefits for extensive, remote and inaccessible Australian landscapes.

    Preferred background: strong quantitative skills in physics, maths, signal or image processing. Well-developed scientific programming (e.g. python, R, C).

    Scholarship available: Candidate to apply for a competitive UQ PhD scholarship: https://scholarships.uq.edu.au/scholarships-explained

    Date available: Currently available.

    Work environment: The project will be based in UQ’s world leading Remote Sensing Research Centre (http://www.rsrc.org.au), which is a collaborative group linking research and applied scientists across the university, CSIRO, government agencies, private industry and space agencies. RSRC is a highly supportive environment, and the position will work with staff and students in Joint Remote Sensing Research Program and SmartSAT CRC.

    Supervisors: Dr William Woodgate; Prof. Stuart Phinn (UQ)

    For more information contact Dr Woodgate (w.woodgate@uq.edu.au)

View all Available Projects

Publications

Journal Article

Conference Publication

  • Woodgate, William, Disney, Mathias, Armston, John, Jones, Simon, Suarez, Lola, Hill, Michael, Wilkes, Phillip, Soto-Berelov, Mariela, Haywood, Andrew and Mellor, Andrew (2013). The impact of sensor characteristics for obtaining accurate ground-based measurements of LAI. 2013 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Melbourne, Australia, 21-26 July 2013. Piscataway, NJ USA: The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.1109/IGARSS.2013.6723226

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.

  • We are looking for someone with good quantitative skills, across numerical analyses and coding to play a key role in a project that will use new forms of satellite image data to monitor and look after the earth’s environments.

    The project will develop links to science and space agencies in Australia and globally and provides a career path to a range of options in data analytics in earth observation.

    The ideal candidate does not require a background in plant ecology or physiology, but does require strong numerical analysis and coding skills.

    The ideal candiate will also have publications that will strengthen their ability to secure a UQ scholarship.

    Working Title: Spectral scaling of dynamic plant function

    Aim

    The broad aim is to establish a more direct link between optical satellite earth observation (EO) data and plant productivity and health monitoring. Optical sensing methods, including the new sun-induced fluorescence (SIF) signal show great promise yet are largely unexplored in Australian conditions. SIF is a photon flux emitted by chlorophyll of plants following absorption of sunlight. The SIF signal, detectable by specialised optical sensors, provides a near-instantaneous proxy for the plants photosynthetic activity - useful for detecting a response to environmental stressors such as water shortage or excess heat.

    At present scaling effects of the optical signal from the leaf to canopy are not well understood. Specifically, the aim is to characterise scaling effects caused by plant structure and composition across a subset of Australian ecosystems, both native and agricultural.

    Method

    Radiative transfer models can be explored that simulate the effect of leaf and canopy structure on the wavelength-dependent radiative fluxes measured by satellites. These models are a powerful tool to understand plant-light interactions from any type of optical sensor.

    Significance

    Algorithms and methods can be developed to use and analyse newly available Earth Observation data from airborne and satellite platforms to more accurately and reliably map and monitor photosynthesis and plant primary productivity (i.e. CO2 uptake). Remotely sensed data has preferential benefits for extensive, remote and inaccessible Australian landscapes.

    Preferred background: strong quantitative skills in physics, maths, signal or image processing. Well-developed scientific programming (e.g. python, R, C).

    Scholarship available: Candidate to apply for a competitive UQ PhD scholarship: https://scholarships.uq.edu.au/scholarships-explained

    Date available: Currently available.

    Work environment: The project will be based in UQ’s world leading Remote Sensing Research Centre (http://www.rsrc.org.au), which is a collaborative group linking research and applied scientists across the university, CSIRO, government agencies, private industry and space agencies. RSRC is a highly supportive environment, and the position will work with staff and students in Joint Remote Sensing Research Program and SmartSAT CRC.

    Supervisors: Dr William Woodgate; Prof. Stuart Phinn (UQ)

    For more information contact Dr Woodgate (w.woodgate@uq.edu.au)