Early Career Society member Sergio Cardenas, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, was selected by the Group on Earth Observations to attend to the GEO Forum in Rome, Italy May 5-9, 2025. Sergio was chosen to participate in GEO’s Youth Idea-A-Thon which convened the weekend prior to the Forum for special programming and to elicit ways to boost global youth engagement in earth intelligence. Here are Sergio Cardenas’ reflections on this honor!
“Last month, I had the privilege of participating in the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Youth Ideathon, held as part of the 2025 GEO Global Forum in Rome, Italy. It was an intense 10 days dedicated to brainstorming Earth intelligence solutions for non-spatial business. This became a fantastic opportunity to share my experience in remote sensing with a broader audience and learn how to translate theoretical knowledge into tangible actions.
Given my research focus on aquatic remote sensing and my involvement with the GEO AquaWatch initiative, I naturally gravitated toward developing solutions for water quality monitoring. Developed in collaboration with Alexandrine from GEO Mountains, my suggested solution sought to give communities surrounding Colombia’s largest lake vital information and forecasts. This included assistance in locating the main sources of contamination affecting the lake, eutrophication alerts, and information about possible algal blooms.
We also had the invaluable opportunity to connect with innovative small companies and fishing communities across Italy, allowing us to understand firsthand the challenges they face. During the Global Forum itself, I had the honor of meeting with representatives from associated GEO communities, such as the dedicated members of the BluePlanet initiative.
For me, the Ideathon was a complete “change of mind” moment. I witnessed firsthand how important it is to actually interact with and involve the communities that are addressing the issues that we study. As scientists, we frequently struggle with or don’t pay enough attention to science diffusion and seeing our research put into practice. Experiences like these are precisely what we need more of to bridge that gap and ensure our work has a meaningful, real-world impact.”
Visit to the Coop. Casa Del Pescatore mussel aquaculture farm at Cattolica, Italy where they face economical losses and reduced yield due to water heatwaves and flash-discharge. (photo credit Sergio Cardenas)
Presentation of the Ideathon problem at the GEO Global Forum. (photo credit Sergio Cardenas)
Sergio delivering his final pipeline and presentation of the solution for water quality degradation and eutrophication of the largest lake in Colombia. (photo credit Sergio Cardenas) Note some of this work was also the subject of his Water Talk in early 2025
In other amazing news Sergio was also selected to attend the Copernicus Fiducial Reference Measurements for Satellite Ocean Colour Phase-2 (FICE-2025) which is going on right now. Sergio will have the opportunity to do hands-on radiometry measurement exercises and observing the in-field in the Aqua Alta Oceanographic Tower of the Adriatic Sea, and use those measurements to validate data from OLCI, VIIRS, MODIS and PACE missions. Sergio is excited to share the data and the experience with GEO AquaWatch after he returns to Brazil! Congratulations Sergio on being another Rising Star in Aquatic Earth Intelligence!
