GRSS Launches New Technical Committee for Quantum Earth Science and Technology
GRSS has launched a new Technical Committee (TC) called Quantum Earth Science and Technology (QUEST) with the primary goal of identifying geoscience and remote sensing challenges that may be addressed by the emerging technologies of quantum-based methods and solutions.
As is true of all TCs, QUEST participation is open to GRSS members, who can sign up at this link to receive an e-newsletter and be notified of upcoming activities. There are two working groups, one each for Quantum Computing and Quantum Sensing.
The TC will hold a session under the Technology Industry and Education (TIE) track at IGARSS 2025 in Brisbane, Australia, and is planning a dedicated workshop on Quantum Computing for Space Applications later this year in Krakow, Poland.
Serving as the QUEST Chair is Gabriele Cavallaro, Associate Professor at University of Iceland and head of Simulation and Data Lab at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre (Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany). In both positions, his work lies at the intersection of remote sensing applications and large-scale machine learning, integrating supercomputing and emerging computing technologies.
The idea of a GRSS technical committee, Prof. Cavallaro explained, is to leverage the breadth of geoscience-related disciplines represented within the Society and marshal this extraordinary expertise to investigate how a particular technology can be applied in specific problems. In the case of quantum technology, GRSS is the ideal organization to study it because the field itself is so interdisciplinary.
Intro to Quantum Processing
Asked to explain Quantum Computing, Prof. Cavallaro first noted this technology is not here to replace the computers we use now, the ones that run on CPUs and GPUs. Quantum computing is based on a completely different paradigm for making computations.
He explained, “Classical computing that we use right now is based on bits – a signal can be either a zero or a one (0,1). In quantum computing, there is the possibility of processing with quantum bits (qubits), the very special brothers of bit, because it contains much more information than a zero or one. There can be different properties or states [of qubits] that can reveal more information during processing. Hence, quantum computing can solve more complex problems in more efficient ways.”
The most important thing to keep in mind about quantum computing is that it is not meant to solve all problems. There will be very specific challenges it will be used to address. Or it might only perform one task as part of much larger computer processing workflows. For this reason, the future of quantum technology is expected to be part of a hybrid solution involving classical computer processing as well.
“Controlling qubits is very challenging and requires a lot of engineering,” said Prof. Cavallaro. “[While this research evolves,] the geoscience and remote sensing community wants to identify problems that could be suitable to be solved when these quantum systems are ready.”
Some of the most commonly cited potential applications of quantum technologies in the geoscience and remote sensing field include quantum sensing and quantum computing. Quantum sensing refers to ultra-sensitive sensors that could deliver more accurate satellite navigation and sharper measurements of Earth’s gravity, magnetism, and other signals. Quantum computing involves the development of quantum processors, and current efforts are focused on integrating them into traditional computing systems (e.g., supercomputers), thereby enabling the solving of highly complex problems arising from vast amounts of remote sensing data, ultimately boosting climate models and environmental monitoring.
In either case, Prof. Cavallaro is confident the QUEST TC can exploit GRSS membership to uncover the immense potential of this technology. He encourages members from every segment of our field to participate in the committee to ensure the broadest swath of qubit-solvable geospatial problems are identified.
Gabriele Cavallaro may be reached at gcavallaro@hi.is. The two co-chairs for QUEST are Upendra N. Singh of NASA Langley Research Center (Upendra.n.singh@nasa.gov) and Artur Miroszewski at Jagiellonian University (artur.miroszewski@uj.edu.pl).
