Dr. Kyriacos Themistocleous is a senior researcher and lecturer at the ERATOSTHENES Research Centre of Cyprus University of Technology (CUT). He holds a Ph.D in Remote Sensing and GIS, a Masters of Architecture in Urban Design (University of Oklahoma) and a Bachelor’s of Architecture (University of Louisiana). He has participated in more than 30 European and nationally funded projects. His research interests include cultural heritage, aerial and satellite remote sensing, GIS, spectroscopy, sustainable development, geophysics, architecture, BIM, life cycle cost, UAVs, urban remote sensing and environmental sciences. Currently, he has over 250 publications in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters and conference proceedings with over 1,000 citations. He has participated as chairman in several international conferences as well as reviewer and editor for several scientific journals. He is the Chair of the Organizing Committee of the International Conferences of Remote Sensing and Geo-information.
He is President of the Cyprus Remote Sensing Society, Executive Council member of the Technical Chamber of Cyprus (ETEK) and treasurer of the Cyprus branch of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). He is also a member of the Cyprus Architect Association, American Institute of Architects (AIA), the National Council of Architecture Registration Board (NCARB), the Architecture Honors Society and the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE). He is a licensed architect in Cyprus and the United States as well as a Qualified Expert on the Energy Performance of Buildings in Cyprus. He also participated in the special committee of the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Works for Space in relation with the European Space Agency. He is the national representative for the Copernicus User Forum, the Copernicus Cultural Heritage Task Force, the Copernicus Relay Network and the Copernicus Academy.
He is President of the Cyprus Remote Sensing Society, Executive Council member of the Technical Chamber of Cyprus (ETEK) and treasurer of the Cyprus branch of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). He is also a member of the Cyprus Architect Association, American Institute of Architects (AIA), the National Council of Architecture Registration Board (NCARB), the Architecture Honors Society and the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE). He is a licensed architect in Cyprus and the United States as well as a Qualified Expert on the Energy Performance of Buildings in Cyprus. He also participated in the special committee of the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Works for Space in relation with the European Space Agency. He is the national representative for the Copernicus User Forum, the Copernicus Cultural Heritage Task Force, the Copernicus Relay Network and the Copernicus Academy.
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Photogrammetry is a technique that calculates the 3D structure from a sequence of images taken from different viewpoints. It identifies common features (such as points or keypoints) in the images and then determines their spatial relationships. The Neural Radiance Field (NeRF) is a machine-learning technique that uses AI to create 3D models. The AI automatically interprets the different images where the algorithm can fill in the missing data where images do not exist. NeRF is faster and more efficient than photogrammetry in terms of processing. The neural network that powers the AI processing provides a partial compensation for noise, distortions and missing information. The use of these two techniques for cultural applications will be examined using the case study of Panagia Karmoitissa.
Heat island effect is usually present in urban areas that experience higher temperatures than rural areas. Materials used for buildings, roads and other infrastructure absorb and re-emit the sun's heat more than green areas and water bodies. This effect results in discomfort to the residents of the affected areas and negatively impacts ecological and energetic variables. The most common way of detecting and analyzing Heat Island Effect using remote sensing is based on the use of evening and night surface satellite images.
In this study, the Land-surface temperature (LST) products of the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellite were used to provide surface temperature from night images and produce heat maps of the urban area of Limassol, Cyprus. The affected areas were examined based on their dependence on green space, building density and population density. The study examined time-series data for the summer period, which is the hottest month of the year in Cyprus. Such information is vital to assist decision and policymakers to adopt effective mitigation strategies and improve urban planning.
Evaluating ten spectral vegetation indices for the identification of military underground structures
The preservation of CH and landscape comprises a strategic priority not only to guarantee cultural treasures and evidence of the human past to future generations, but also to exploit them as a strategic and valuable economic asset. The objective of this paper is to present knowledge transfer examples achieved from the ATHENA project through intense training activities. These activities were also designed to enhance the scientific profile of the research staff and to accelerate the development of research capabilities of the ERC. At the same time the results from the training activities were also exploited to promote earth observation knowledge and best practices intended for CH. The activities included active and passive remote sensing data used for archaeological applications, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image analysis for change and deformation detection, monitoring of risk factors related to cultural heritage sites including archaeological looting etc.
The present paper is under the auspices of the ATHENA project, which receives funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 691936. Work programme H2020 under “Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation”, call: H2020-TWINN-2015: Twinning (Coordination and Support Action).
The preservation of CH and landscape comprises a strategic priority not only to guarantee cultural treasures and evidence of the human past to future generations, but also to exploit them as a strategic and valuable economic asset. The objective of this paper is to present knowledge transfer examples achieved from the ATHENA project through intense training activities. These activities were also designed to enhance the scientific profile of the research staff and to accelerate the development of research capabilities of the ERC. At the same time the results from the training activities were also exploited to promote earth observation knowledge and best practices intended for CH. The activities included active and passive remote sensing data used for archaeological applications, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image analysis for change and deformation detection, monitoring of risk factors related to cultural heritage sites including archaeological looting etc.
This paper presents the results obtained from field spectroradiometric campaigns at ‘buried’ underground structures in Cyprus. A SVC-1024 field spectroradiometer was used and in-band reflectances were determined for a variety of medium and high resolution satellite sensors as well as Landsat. A number of vegetation indices such as NDVI were obtained while a ‘smart index’ was developed aiming for the detection of military underground structures following the assessment of the existing vegetation indices or other available band combinations algorithm. Test areas were identified, analyzed and modeled.
The areas have been analyzed and tested in different scenarios such as: (a) the ‘natural state’ of the underground structure (b) the different type of crop over the underground structure and imported soil (c) the different types of non-natural material over the underground structure. A reference target in the nearby area was selected. Controllable meteorological and environmental parameters were acquired and monitored. As well, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was also used to survey the area with visible and near-infrared cameras in order to generate NDVI values for comparison to the in-situ spectroradiometric measurements
The present work aims to provide detailed information regarding the different existing datasets that can be used to support archaeologists in understanding the transformations that the landscape in Cyprus undergone, from a remote sensing perspective. Such datasets may help archaeologists to visualize a lost landscape and try to retrieve valuable information, while they support researchers for future investigations. As such they can further highlight in a predictive manner and consequently assess the impacts of landscape transformation -being of natural or anthropogenic cause- to cultural heritage.
Three main datasets are presented here: aerial images, satellite datasets including spy satellite datasets acquired during the Cold War, and cadastral maps. The variety of data is provided in a chronological order (e.g. year of acquisitions), while other important parameters such as the cost and the accuracy are also determined. Individual examples of archaeological sites in Cyprus are also provided for each dataset in order to underline both their importance and performance. Also some pre- and post-processing remote sensing methodologies are briefly described in order to enhance the final results. The paper within the framework of ATHENA project, dedicated to remote sensing archaeology/CH, aims to fill a significant gap in the recent literature of remote sensing archaeology of the island and to assist current and future archaeologists in their quest for remote sensing information to support their research.
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