MARIA JOSE LOPEZ GARCIA

Maria Jose Lopez Garcia is a Full Professor in the Department of Geography at the Faculty of Geography and History, University of Valencia. Her academic career is deeply rooted in physical geography with a strong emphasis on remote sensing and environmental monitoring. She has made significant contributions to understanding climate change impacts in the Mediterranean region, particularly through long-term satellite observations.

Her research interests span a wide range of topics including sea surface temperature dynamics, land use and land cover change, urban expansion, coastal ecosystem monitoring, and hydrological modeling in Mediterranean environments. She employs advanced geospatial technologies such as GIS and satellite imagery (NOAA, Landsat, Sentinel) to analyze environmental changes over time.

The analysis of her recent publications (2018–2025) reveals a sustained focus on climate change in the Mediterranean, with particular attention to sea surface warming trends, vegetation dynamics, and coastal habitat mapping. Her work integrates multi-temporal satellite data to detect long-term environmental shifts, contributing to both scientific understanding and policy-relevant knowledge. She frequently publishes in Spanish, English, and Catalan, reflecting the regional and international scope of her research.

Selected Scientific Contributions:

• Long-term analysis of Mediterranean sea surface temperature using 35–40 years of satellite data
• Pioneering work on urban heat island effects in Valencia using NOAA satellite data
• Mapping of Posidonia oceanica meadows using Sentinel-2 imagery
• Studies on agricultural intensification and land use changes in riverine areas like the vega de Aranjuez
• Monitoring of vegetation dynamics and greening trends in the Iberian Peninsula

Maria Jose Lopez Garcia has supervised various research projects related to environmental change and geospatial analysis. Her work has involved collaboration across disciplines, integrating climatology, hydrology, ecology, and historical geography. She has contributed to both technical methodological advances in remote sensing and broader environmental assessments.

She leads or participates in research teams focused on Mediterranean environmental change, utilizing satellite data for ecological monitoring. Her laboratory work involves processing and interpreting multi-sensor, multi-temporal satellite imagery to extract environmental indicators. Current and future research directions likely include enhanced monitoring of marine and coastal ecosystems, climate change adaptation strategies, and the integration of new satellite missions for environmental assessment.