Earth Observation & Citizen Science (Geo-Wiki)

Data can be input via desktop or mobile devices, with campaigns and games used to incentivize input. These innovative techniques have been used to successfully integrate citizen-derived data sources with expert and authoritative data to address pressing policy-related questions (e.g. European environmental policy, SDG indicators and more).

About Geo-Wiki

The Geo-Wiki was established in 2010 in the Novel Data Ecosystems for Sustainability research group, located within the Advancing Systems Analysis Program at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg, Austria. An early beta-version was developed in partnership with the University of Freiburg, Germany and the University of Wiener Neustadt, Austria.

Since its inception, Geo-Wiki has grown rapidly, with currently over 22,000 registered users having contributed more than 18 million image classifications from around the world. Furthermore, the Geo-Wiki toolbox has expanded to include numerous applications which help to address a variety of global challenges (e.g. land use change, food security, pollution and more). In addition, we have many ongoing research projects that rely on and further develop these applications, kindly supported by e.g. the European Commission, the European Space Agency and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency among others.

How Geo-Wiki works

The Geo-Wiki portal offers all citizen scientists the opportunity to participate in environmental monitoring of the earth's surface by evaluating satellite and aerial images in detail.

Citizen scientists can take part in the regular campaigns and games either with their private mobile phone or via computer.

By using these innovative techniques, Geo-Wiki has been used to successfully integrate citizen-derived data sources with expert and authoritative data. See our Geo-Wiki datasets and learn more about our citizen science campaigns here.

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Geo-Wiki projects

High ILUC-Lot 1 -The High Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) Lot 1 project aims to quantify feedstock expansion onto land with high carbon stock, as input for the determination of high ILUC fuels. The project provides technical assistance to and is financed by the European Commission (DG-Energy).

LandSense - The LandSense Citizen Observatory aims to aggregate innovative EO technologies to empower communities to monitor and report on their environment.

GROW - A European-wide project engaging thousands of growers, scientists and others passionate about the land. We will discover together, using simple tools to better manage soil and grow food.

WeObserve - WeObserve is an H2020 Coordination and Support Action (CSA) which tackles three key challenges that Citizens Observatories (COs) face: awareness, acceptability and sustainability.

Adapt UHI - Urban heat islands and climate change are having an impact on smart urban development. ADAPT-UHI will help to identify targeted mitigation and adaptation measures.

Geo-Wiki projects

FloodCitiSense - FloodCitiSense aims at developing an urban pluvial flood early warning service for, but also by citizens and city authorities. This service will reduce the vulnerability of urban areas and citizens.

Copernicus Global Land Cover - The project aims to develop annual global land cover maps with a 100m resolution consistent over time, and has been tracking land cover changes since 2015.

CIMMYT collaboration - A collaborative project between IIASA and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico to support efforts of sustainable agricultural intensification with mobile crowdsourcing.

Zurich Flood Resilience - The Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance is a global alliance which aims to improve the resilience of communities around the globe to hazards associated with flooding.

Restore+ - Restore+ combines remote sensing with crowdsourced information on biophysical and social complexity of degraded land. The information will assess restoration options with multi-objective models.