This project was developed in collaboration with the Biogeochemical Department of the Max Planck Society, ELLIS Unit Jena and the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena as part of künstlerische Tatsachen Art & Science residency.

To detect fires around the world, specialised research satellites continuously monitor the Earth and take pictures. These images, captured by a special camera sensor, include infrared light, allowing them to identify active fires from hundreds of kilometers away.

“Ground truthing” describes the process by which remotely sensed information is evaluated. By comparing data collected from a distance with physical measurements taken on the ground, it can be verified and better understood.

The installation “Ground Truth“ combines live satellite information of active fires with social media data from Snapchat. This app allows users to upload photos and videos with embedded geolocation, which can only be viewed for one day. The combination of these two datasets creates a unique, real-time ground truth that wouldn't be possible to obtain in any other way.