Dr. Jane Southworth

Professor

Fellow of the American Association of Geographers

Co-Chair, AI Across the Curriculum

NASA Lab

ORCID

Curriculum Vitae

Focus Areas

Biography

Jane Southworth is Full Professor at the University of Florida, Department of Geography. She holds a BSc degree in Geography, from Leicester University in the UK, an MSc in Geography, with a Specialization in Meteorology & Climatology from Indiana University, and a PhD in Environmental Science, also from Indiana University.

Professor Southworth’s research interests are based on the study of social-ecological systems within the field of Land Change Science, Geospatial Science and GeoAI. Her particular foci are: remote sensing of vegetation dynamics with a focus on time-series and AI approaches to remotely sensed analyses and linkages with climatic drivers; linking changes in land use and land cover change to their respective drivers with a focus on land change modeling; the implications of scale and scaling in remote sensing and modeling analyses; addressing linkages and drivers of change as they relate to people and parks; and modeling of the impacts of climate change and changing climate variability on human-environment systems and vegetation dynamics.

At UF she served as Department Chair (2016–2025), co‑chaired the university’s AI Across the Curriculum initiative, and co‑led the AI BlueSky visioning effort. She has led or co-led more than $18M in funded interdisciplinary projects, published two books and 115+ peer‑reviewed papers, and is writing a third book on GeoAI. She has graduated 24 PhD and 11 master’s students and currently mentors nine graduate researchers. She is Specialty Chief Editor for Remote Sensing Time Series Analysis at Frontiers in Remote Sensing and serves on the editorial boards of Global Environmental Change, Progress in Environmental Geography, Geography & Sustainability, Geographical Analysis, and LAND.

Research Statement

The globe is currently undergoing a range of alarming changes related to social and environmental systems, and the links between the two. Our ability as researchers to study the dynamics of these ongoing processes is essential for real-world understanding and application of management strategies that can mitigate potentially negative outcomes. The scale of change and its associated impact generated by natural and anthropogenic drivers varies across the landscape, such as local degradation of ecosystem services, regional deforestation, large scale urbanization, and widespread yet geographically specific changes yielded by vagaries in climate.

Understanding such critical changes is of paramount importance for the future wellbeing of the coupled human-natural systems that we are all a part of and on which we all depend. The tremendous amount of data now available for remote sensing research cannot be efficiently utilized with traditional methodologies of analysis, creating a need for new approaches and techniques. Use of artificial intelligence (AI), specifically related to issues of big data and machine learning, including deep learning, are all possible innovations within this field. As such, we are now on the cusp of being able to effectively investigate some of the most pressing environmental concerns of our time at a temporal scale relevant to climatological, ecological, and social systems.

The coming decade will surely present landmark innovations, introduce novel approaches, and yield breakthroughs in understanding our world. Such advances will undoubtedly be facilitated by the enhanced accessibility of remotely sensed datasets with greater temporal range, which will enable more effective monitoring and detection of GEC. Not only is such research of paramount importance, but training this next generation of students and scholars, to make them ready to engage in these arenas, with the real-world skills they need to tackle these problems, is of paramount concern, and one where AI training and understanding is front and center. UF is currently placing itself as a leader with its exciting and transformational concept of AI across the curriculum. What a wonderful time to join the Gator Nation!

Recent Publications

Herrero, H. V., Van der Walt, Z. L., Bunting, E. L., Insalaco, S. A., Spining, J. D., Finch, D. Z., ... & Blackburn, J. K. (2026). Pathways to Sustainable Land Stewardship in South Africa’s Wine-Producing Regions. Sustainability, 18(8), 3825.

Safaei, M., Southworth, J., Gibbes, C., Herrero, H. V., Rahaman, M., Tefera, B. B., & Blackburn, J. K. (2025). Land-cover classification in Addo Elephant National Park: Analyzing the impact of variables, classifiers, and object-based approach. Ecological Informatics, 90, 103279.

Southworth, J., Smith, A., Safaei, M., Rahaman, M., Alruzuq, A., Tefera, B.B., Muir, C.S., and Herrero, H.H. (2024). Machine Learning versus Deep Learning in Land System Science: A Decision-Making Framework for Effective Land Classification. Frontiers in Remote Sensing, 5, 1374862.

Tefera, B. B., Southworth, J., Mossa, J., Rahaman, M., Safaei, M., Yang, D., & Karuppannan, S. (2025). Predictive groundwater quality responses to land cover and lithology in the upper Awash River basin (Ethiopia) with stacking ensembles. Journal of Environmental Management, 394, 127572.

Muir, C. S., Khatami, R., & Southworth, J. (2025). Large-scale land acquisitions and land cover change in Ethiopia. Ecology and Society, 30(3).

Rahaman, M., Southworth, J., Wen, Y., & Keellings, D. (2025). Assessing Model Trade-Offs in Agricultural Remote Sensing: A Review of Machine Learning and Deep Learning Approaches Using Almond Crop Mapping. Remote Sensing, 17(15), 2670.

Rahaman, M., Southworth, J., Amanambu, A. C., Tefera, B. B., Alruzuq, A. R., Safaei, M., ... & Smith, A. C. (2025). Combining deep learning and machine learning techniques to track air pollution in relation to vegetation cover utilizing remotely sensed data. Journal of Environmental Management, 376, 124323.

Southworth, J., Smith, A. C., Safaei, M., Rahaman, M., Alruzuq, A., Tefera, B. B., ... & Herrero, H. V. (2024). Machine learning versus deep learning in land system science: A decision-making framework for effective land classification. Frontiers in Remote Sensing, 5, 1374862.

Dewald, J. R., Southworth, J., & Moise, I. K. (2023). The role of people, parks and precipitation on the frequency and timing of fires in a sub-Saharan savanna ecosystem. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 33(1), WF23020.

Dewald, J. R., Southworth, J., Szapocznik, J., Lombard, J. L., & Brown, S. C. (2023). Greening the urban landscape: Assessing the impact of tree-planting initiatives and climate influences on Miami-Dade County’s greenness. Remote Sensing, 16(1), 157.

Educational Background

  • PhD in Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, 2000
  • M.S. in Geography, Specialization in Meteorology & Climatology, 1996
  • B.S. in Geography, Leicester University, 1992

Current Graduate Students

PhD

Master’s

  • Patrick Gawienczuk

Recent Graduate Students

PhD

  • Dr. Audrey Culver Smith, 2026.
  • Dr. Carly Muir, 2023. Researcher, William and Mary
  • Dr. Ryan Good, 2022. Lecturer, SNRE, University of Florida
  • Dr. Leandra Merz  (Co-Chair with Dr. Brian Child), 2022. Postdoc at University of Michigan
  • Dr. Mehedy Hassan, 2021. Postdoc, University of Florida
  • Dr. Hannah Herrero, 2019. Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee
  • Dr. Meshari Alenezi, 2019. Assistant Professor, University of Kuwait
  • Dr. Xavier Haro-Carrion, 2019. Assistant Professor, Macalester University
  • Dr. Mehmet Ozdes, 2018. Assistant Professor, Namik Kemai University, Turkey
  • Dr. Forrest Stevens, 2015. Associate Professor, University of Louisville
  • Dr. Erin Bunting, 2014. Assistant Professor and Director of Remote Sensing Institute, Michigan State University
  • Dr. Tim Fullman  (Co-Chair, Dr. Brian Child), 2014. Senior Ecologist, The Wilderness Society
  • Dr. Jessica Steele, 2014. Senior Enterprise Fellow, University of Southampton
  • Dr. Likai Zhu, 2014. Associate Professor, Linyi University, China
  • Dr. Jing Sun, 2013. Professor, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
  • Dr. Muhammad Almatar, 2012. Associate Professor & Chair, University of Kuwait
  • Dr. HuiPing Tsai, 2012. Faculty member, NCH University, Taiwan
  • Dr. Cerian Gibbes, 2011. Associate Professor, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
  • Dr. Sanchayeeta Adhikari, 2011. Associate Professor, University of California, Northridge
  • Dr. Pinki Mondal, 2010. Assistant Professor, University of Delaware
  • Dr. Claudia Stickler, 2009. Scientist, Earth Innovation Institute
  • Dr. Jaclyn Hall, 2009. Research Scientist, Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics, University of Florida
  • Dr. Amy Daniels, 2009. Research Scientist
  • Dr. Matt Marsik (Co-Chair, Dr. Peter Waylen), 2008. Data Management Analyst, UF Health
  • Dr. Joel Hartter (Co-Chair, Dr. Abe Goldman), 2007. Professor & Director of MENV Program, University of Colorado, Boulder

Masters

  • Mason Theurer, 2025. Works in Environmental Field, FL
  • Sarah VanSchoik, 2025. Works for St Johns Water Management District
  • Tyler Schaper, 2021. Works in Foreign Affairs, US Government
  • Audrey Smith, 2017. Continued on to PhD
  • Hannah Herrero, 2015. Continued on to PhD
  • Mariano Gonzalez, 2009. Country Director, Wildlife Conservation Society, Argentina
  • Forrest Stevens, 2009. Continued to PhD
  • Muhammad Almatar, 2008. Continued on to PhD
  • Cerian Gibbes, 2006. Continued on to PhD
  • Rob Lopez, 2006. Geospatial Analyst, US Department of Defense