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Luke Bateson

Luke Bateson

Acting head of shallow geohazards and Earth observation; head of geodesy and remote sensing (Keyworth)
BGS Keyworth
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Luke Bateson is a Principal Remote Sensing Geologist and Head of the Geodesy and Remote Sensing team in BGS. Luke has over 25 years’ experience of the processing and interpretation of a range of EO data for a range of different geological applications. As a trained Geologist Luke has undertaken geological mapping both in the UK and overseas (Botswana, Chile, Greece) and has led the remote sensing work packages of large international geological mapping projects in the UAE, Mauritania, Madagascar, Ghana, Botswana, Bolivia. Luke has research interests in the application of optical remote sensing to geological processes in the UK and overseas, where he utilises data visualisation and integration skills to inform stakeholders. Luke is a project manager for Innovate UK, UK Space Agency, FP7 and European Space Agency projects where he has led the application of Earth Observation to a range of research projects aimed at increasing the understanding of different components of the mining cycle in the UK and overseas. He led the Geological Mapping component within Innovate UKs Project Hephaestus, where Earth Observation was applied to the all aspects of the mining cycle in Chile. He also led the data integration tasks within the Innovate UK ‘Project Lithium’ where innovative EO techniques were combined with geological data to understand the Lithium resource in Cornwall. He is expert in the application and interpretation of InSAR derived ground motions to characterise geological phenomena and guide policy. Luke actively researches the use of InSAR observations for ground motions relating to fluid flows within former mining areas. He is now an invited member of the EU-Ground Motion Service advisory board, where he advises the European Environment Agency on the production of a continent wide InSAR ground motion map. Luke uses drones for geoscience applications and manages the BGS capability in this area. As a qualified drone pilot, he uses different platforms to apply a variety of data to different applications. Luke is the former chair of the Geological Remote Sensing Group (GeolSoc) where he convened three international conferences on geological remote sensing and he is a regular invited speaker on EO.

Luke Bateson’s biography

  • 2000 to 2001: MSc. Geographical Information Systems, University of Edinburgh
  • 1996 to 2000: BSc Geology and Physical Geography, University of Edinburgh

Research interests

  • The application of Radar Interferometry to ground motion
  • Optical Remote Sensing
  • Geological interpretation of ground motion information
  • 3D visualisation of large spatial datasets

Current projects and collaborations

  • EO4Multiha: High impact multihazards science (2023 – ongoing) (ESA) – Advancing the multi-hazard science domain by including EO and ESA missions’ data into the overall workflow
  • COMET: Centre for the Observation and Modelling of Earthquakes Tectonics and Volcanoes – Executive committee – The UKs national capability, uses satellite measurements alongside ground-based observations and geophysical models to study earthquakes and volcanoes, and help understand the hazards they pose
  • European Ground Motion Service Advisory Board:(2019 – ongoing) (EEA) -provide expert advice and review of EGMS documentation including product specification, processing plans etc, provide input to validation plan, dissemination activities and promotion of the service
  • Subsidence in Rapidly Developing Cities: (2022 – ongoing) (NERC) – Derivation of rates of subsidence for areas of rapid urban development in SE Asia, linkage to causational factors
  • Shrink swell ground motion and heat waves urgency grant (2022 – ongoing) (NERC) – Investigate the link between ground motion, volume change in clays and climate change
  • H2020 Community Support Action: Geological Service for Europe (2022 – ongoing) (EU) – Coastal vulnerability to climate change around the European Coast
  • Supervisor to Geospatial CDT PhD student (University of Nottingham and BGS) (2023 – present) – Development of routines for the automatic interpretation of InSAR data
  • Tonga Tsunami Urgency Grant (2022 – 2023) (NERC) – Integrated Earth Observation and Volcanic modelling to assess possible tsunami generation mechanisms
  • EU ACT Sense project (Assuring integrity of CO2 storage sites through ground surface monitoring) (2019 – 2022) – researching the ability of InSAR to monitor subsurface fluid flow onshore in the UK, using a gas storage site as an analogue.
  • Assessment of Baseline Ground Motions for UK Geothermal sites (2017 – present) – Responsibilities: Geological interpretation of InSAR detected ground motions in Glasgow to establish the ground motion prior to any geothermal activity

ORCID: 0000-0002-6522-3577

Publications

NERC Open Research Archive — Luke Bateson

Published outputs

Key papers

  • Bateson, L, Cigna, F, Boon, D, and Sowter, A. 2015. The application of the Intermittent SBAS (ISBAS) InSAR method to the South Wales Coalfield, UK. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 34. 249-257. 10.1016/j.jag.2014.08.018
  • Cigna, F, Bateson, L, Jordan, and C J, Dashwood, C. 2014. Simulating SAR geometric distortions and predicting Persistent Scatterer densities for ERS-1/2 and ENVISAT C-band SAR and InSAR applications: nationwide feasibility assessment to monitor the landmass of Great Britain with SAR imagery. Remote Sensing of Environment, 152. 441-466. 10.1016/j.rse.2014.06.025
  • Cigna, F, Jordan, H, Bateson, L, McCormack, H, Roberts, C. 2014. Natural and anthropogenic geohazards in Greater London observed from geological and ERS-1/2 and ENVISAT Persistent Scatterers ground motion data: results from the EC FP7-SPACE PanGeo Project. Pure and Applied Geophysics. 10.1007/s00024-014-0927-3
  • Sowter, A, Bateson, L, Strange, P, Ambrose, K, Syafiudin, M F. 2013. DInSAR estimation of land motion using intermittent coherence with application to the South Derbyshire and Leicestershire coalfields. Remote Sensing Letters, 4 (10). 979-987. 10.1080/2150704X.2013.823673
  • Bateson, L, Vellico, M, Beaubien, S E, Pearce, J M, Annunziatellis, A, Ciotoli, G, Coren, F, Lombardi, S, and Marsh, S. 2008. The application of remote-sensing techniques to monitor CO2-storage sites for surface leakage: Method development and testing at Latera (Italy) where naturally produced CO2 is leaking to the atmosphere. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 2 (3), 388–400.
  • Sowter, A, Leighton, J, Adamska, L, Teferle, N, Bingley, R, and Bateson, L. In Press. The Absolute Positioning of Persistent Scatterers in ENVISAT-1 ASAR Data. International Journal of Remote Sensing.
  • Pearce ,J M, Kirby, G A, Lacinska, A, Bateson, L, Wagner, D, Rochelle, C A, and Cassidy, M. 2011. Reservoir-scale CO2-fluid rock interactions: Preliminary results from field investigations in the Paradox Basin, Southeast Utah. Energy Procedia, 4 (2011) 5058–5065

Skills

  • Remote Sensing
  • Multi-rotor UAV pilot
  • Application of InSAR measurements of ground deformation to geological issues
  • Scientific leadership and project management
  • Stakeholder engagement
  • People management and development
  • Communication of science to the public
  • Training in remote sensing and geoscience field skills

 

Boards and committees

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