Joseph A. Gallego-Mejia

Matt Allen, Francisco Dorr, Joseph A. Gallego-Mejia et al.

Satellite-based remote sensing is instrumental in the monitoring and mitigation of the effects of anthropogenic climate change. Large scale, high resolution data derived from these sensors can be used to inform intervention and policy decision making, but the timeliness and accuracy of these interventions is limited by use of optical data, which cannot operate at night and is affected by adverse weather conditions. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) offers a robust alternative to optical data, but its associated complexities limit the scope of labelled data generation for traditional deep learning. In this work, we apply a self-supervised pretraining scheme, masked autoencoding, to SAR amplitude data covering 8.7\% of the Earth's land surface area, and tune the pretrained weights on two downstream tasks crucial to monitoring climate change - vegetation cover prediction and land cover classification. We show that the use of this pretraining scheme reduces labelling requirements for the downstream tasks by more than an order of magnitude, and that this pretraining generalises geographically, with the performance gain increasing when tuned downstream on regions outside the pretraining set. Our findings significantly advance climate change mitigation by facilitating the development of task and region-specific SAR models, allowing local communities and organizations to deploy tailored solutions for rapid, accurate monitoring of climate change effects.

Matt Allen, Francisco Dorr, Joseph A. Gallego-Mejia et al.

In this work we pretrain a CLIP/ViT based model using three different modalities of satellite imagery across five AOIs covering over ~10\% of Earth's total landmass, namely Sentinel 2 RGB optical imagery, Sentinel 1 SAR radar amplitude and interferometric coherence. This model uses $\sim 250$ M parameters. Then, we use the embeddings produced for each modality with a classical machine learning method to attempt different downstream tasks for earth observation related to vegetation, built up surface, croplands and permanent water. We consistently show how we reduce the need for labeled data by 99\%, so that with ~200-500 randomly selected labeled examples (around 4K-10K km$^2$) we reach performance levels analogous to those achieved with the full labeled datasets (about 150K image chips or 3M km$^2$ in each area of interest - AOI) on all modalities, AOIs and downstream tasks. This leads us to think that the model has captured significant earth features useful in a wide variety of scenarios. To enhance our model's usability in practice, its architecture allows inference in contexts with missing modalities and even missing channels within each modality. Additionally, we visually show that this embedding space, obtained with no labels, is sensible to the different earth features represented by the labelled datasets we selected.

Joseph Gallego-Mejia, Daniela Martin-Vega, Fabio Gonzalez

Governments have to supervise and inspect social economy enterprises (SEEs). However, inspecting all SEEs is not possible due to the large number of SEEs and the low number of inspectors in general. We proposed a prediction model based on a machine learning approach. The method was trained with the random forest algorithm with historical data provided by each SEE. Three consecutive periods of data were concatenated. The proposed method uses these periods as input data and predicts the risk of each SEE in the fourth period. The model achieved 76\% overall accuracy. In addition, it obtained good accuracy in predicting the high risk of a SEE. We found that the legal nature and the variation of the past-due portfolio are good predictors of the future risk of a SEE. Thus, the risk of a SEE in a future period can be predicted by a supervised machine learning method. Predicting the high risk of a SEE improves the daily work of each inspector by focusing only on high-risk SEEs.

Joseph A. Gallego, Fabio A. González

Density estimation is a fundamental task in statistics and machine learning applications. Kernel density estimation is a powerful tool for non-parametric density estimation in low dimensions; however, its performance is poor in higher dimensions. Moreover, its prediction complexity scale linearly with more training data points. This paper presents a method for neural density estimation that can be seen as a type of kernel density estimation, but without the high prediction computational complexity. The method is based on density matrices, a formalism used in quantum mechanics, and adaptive Fourier features. The method can be trained without optimization, but it could be also integrated with deep learning architectures and trained using gradient descent. Thus, it could be seen as a form of neural density estimation method. The method was evaluated in different synthetic and real datasets, and its performance compared against state-of-the-art neural density estimation methods, obtaining competitive results.

Joseph A. Gallego-Mejia, Anna Jungbluth, Laura Martínez-Ferrer et al.

Self-supervised learning (SSL) models have recently demonstrated remarkable performance across various tasks, including image segmentation. This study delves into the emergent characteristics of the Self-Distillation with No Labels (DINO) algorithm and its application to Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery. We pre-train a vision transformer (ViT)-based DINO model using unlabeled SAR data, and later fine-tune the model to predict high-resolution land cover maps. We rigorously evaluate the utility of attention maps generated by the ViT backbone and compare them with the model's token embedding space. We observe a small improvement in model performance with pre-training compared to training from scratch and discuss the limitations and opportunities of SSL for remote sensing and land cover segmentation. Beyond small performance increases, we show that ViT attention maps hold great intrinsic value for remote sensing, and could provide useful inputs to other algorithms. With this, our work lays the groundwork for bigger and better SSL models for Earth Observation.

Laura Martínez-Ferrer, Anna Jungbluth, Joseph A. Gallego-Mejia et al.

In this work we pre-train a DINO-ViT based model using two Synthetic Aperture Radar datasets (S1GRD or GSSIC) across three regions (China, Conus, Europe). We fine-tune the models on smaller labeled datasets to predict vegetation percentage, and empirically study the connection between the embedding space of the models and their ability to generalize across diverse geographic regions and to unseen data. For S1GRD, embedding spaces of different regions are clearly separated, while GSSIC's overlaps. Positional patterns remain during fine-tuning, and greater distances in embeddings often result in higher errors for unfamiliar regions. With this, our work increases our understanding of generalizability for self-supervised models applied to remote sensing.

Oscar Bustos-Brinez, Joseph Gallego-Mejia, Fabio A. González

This paper presents a novel density estimation method for anomaly detection using density matrices (a powerful mathematical formalism from quantum mechanics) and Fourier features. The method can be seen as an efficient approximation of Kernel Density Estimation (KDE). A systematic comparison of the proposed method with eleven state-of-the-art anomaly detection methods on various data sets is presented, showing competitive performance on different benchmark data sets. The method is trained efficiently and it uses optimization to find the parameters of data embedding. The prediction phase complexity of the proposed algorithm is constant relative to the training data size, and it performs well in data sets with different anomaly rates. Its architecture allows vectorization and can be implemented on GPU/TPU hardware.

Joseph Gallego-Mejia, Oscar Bustos-Brinez, Fabio Gonzalez

Streaming anomaly detection refers to the problem of detecting anomalous data samples in streams of data. This problem poses challenges that classical and deep anomaly detection methods are not designed to cope with, such as conceptual drift and continuous learning. State-of-the-art flow anomaly detection methods rely on fixed memory using hash functions or nearest neighbors that may not be able to constrain high-frequency values as in a moving average or remove seamless outliers and cannot be trained in an end-to-end deep learning architecture. We present a new incremental anomaly detection method that performs continuous density estimation based on random Fourier features and the mechanism of quantum measurements and density matrices that can be viewed as an exponential moving average density. It can process potentially endless data and its update complexity is constant $O(1)$. A systematic evaluation against 12 state-of-the-art streaming anomaly detection algorithms using 12 streaming datasets is presented.

Joseph Gallego-Mejia, Oscar Bustos-Brinez, Fabio A. González

This paper presents an anomaly detection model that combines the strong statistical foundation of density-estimation-based anomaly detection methods with the representation-learning ability of deep-learning models. The method combines an autoencoder, for learning a low-dimensional representation of the data, with a density-estimation model based on random Fourier features and density matrices in an end-to-end architecture that can be trained using gradient-based optimization techniques. The method predicts a degree of normality for new samples based on the estimated density. A systematic experimental evaluation was performed on different benchmark datasets. The experimental results show that the method performs on par with or outperforms other state-of-the-art methods.

Grace Colverd, Jumpei Takami, Laura Schade et al.

Accurately estimating forest biomass is crucial for global carbon cycle modelling and climate change mitigation. Tree height, a key factor in biomass calculations, can be measured using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology. This study applies machine learning to extract forest height data from two SAR products: Single Look Complex (SLC) images and tomographic cubes, in preparation for the ESA Biomass Satellite mission. We use the TomoSense dataset, containing SAR and LiDAR data from Germany's Eifel National Park, to develop and evaluate height estimation models. Our approach includes classical methods, deep learning with a 3D U-Net, and Bayesian-optimized techniques. By testing various SAR frequencies and polarimetries, we establish a baseline for future height and biomass modelling. Best-performing models predict forest height to be within 2.82m mean absolute error for canopies around 30m, advancing our ability to measure global carbon stocks and support climate action.

Joseph Gallego-Mejia, Oscar Bustos-Brinez, Fabio A. González

This paper introduces a novel anomaly detection framework that combines the robust statistical principles of density-estimation-based anomaly detection methods with the representation-learning capabilities of deep learning models. The method originated from this framework is presented in two different versions: a shallow approach employing a density-estimation model based on adaptive Fourier features and density matrices, and a deep approach that integrates an autoencoder to learn a low-dimensional representation of the data. By estimating the density of new samples, both methods are able to find normality scores. The methods can be seamlessly integrated into an end-to-end architecture and optimized using gradient-based optimization techniques. To evaluate their performance, extensive experiments were conducted on various benchmark datasets. The results demonstrate that both versions of the method can achieve comparable or superior performance when compared to other state-of-the-art methods. Notably, the shallow approach performs better on datasets with fewer dimensions, while the autoencoder-based approach shows improved performance on datasets with higher dimensions.

Fabio A. González, Raúl Ramos-Pollán, Joseph A. Gallego-Mejia

This paper introduces a novel approach to probabilistic deep learning, kernel density matrices, which provide a simpler yet effective mechanism for representing joint probability distributions of both continuous and discrete random variables. In quantum mechanics, a density matrix is the most general way to describe the state of a quantum system. This work extends the concept of density matrices by allowing them to be defined in a reproducing kernel Hilbert space. This abstraction allows the construction of differentiable models for density estimation, inference, and sampling, and enables their integration into end-to-end deep neural models. In doing so, we provide a versatile representation of marginal and joint probability distributions that allows us to develop a differentiable, compositional, and reversible inference procedure that covers a wide range of machine learning tasks, including density estimation, discriminative learning, and generative modeling. The broad applicability of the framework is illustrated by two examples: an image classification model that can be naturally transformed into a conditional generative model, and a model for learning with label proportions that demonstrates the framework's ability to deal with uncertainty in the training samples. The framework is implemented as a library and is available at: https://github.com/fagonzalezo/kdm.

Grace Colverd, Jumpei Takami, Laura Schade et al.

Tree height estimation serves as an important proxy for biomass estimation in ecological and forestry applications. While traditional methods such as photogrammetry and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) offer accurate height measurements, their application on a global scale is often cost-prohibitive and logistically challenging. In contrast, remote sensing techniques, particularly 3D tomographic reconstruction from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery, provide a scalable solution for global height estimation. SAR images have been used in earth observation contexts due to their ability to work in all weathers, unobscured by clouds. In this study, we use deep learning to estimate forest canopy height directly from 2D Single Look Complex (SLC) images, a derivative of SAR. Our method attempts to bypass traditional tomographic signal processing, potentially reducing latency from SAR capture to end product. We also quantify the impact of varying numbers of SLC images on height estimation accuracy, aiming to inform future satellite operations and optimize data collection strategies. Compared to full tomographic processing combined with deep learning, our minimal method (partial processing + deep learning) falls short, with an error 16-21\% higher, highlighting the continuing relevance of geometric signal processing.