Joan Vlasschaert
Sessions in which Joan Vlasschaert attends
martes 29 octubre, 2024
Space, the final frontier. Or is it? Although many people are fascinated by space, most are relatively unaware of how space technologies pervade their everyday life. From global positioning systems (GPS) and satellite communications to weather forecasting and monitoring the health of crops or the extent of sea ice, the standard of living we currently enjoy is fundamentally dependent on satellites and space technology. Space is becoming even more important in monitoring the changing climate, p...
The Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI) defines human footprint as the visible alteration or conversion of native ecosystems to temporary or permanent residential, recreational, agricultural, or industrial landscapes. It also includes land that is periodically reset to earlier successional conditions by industrial activities such as forestry harvest areas and seismic lines. To monitor and map human footprint across Alberta, the ABMI, in partnership with the Alberta Human Footprin...
Subsea acoustic sensors, including multibeam sonars and sub bottom profilers, provide users with a variety of data types to improve our understanding of the marine environment and effectively manage important resources. This includes bathymetry, which is a foundational layer for analysis, but also information on the bottom reflectivity to characterize sediment types, water column data to map mid-water material and organisims by providing a view from the sensor to the floor of our rivers and l...
Sessions: Human footprint datasets for Canada: mapping and monitoring in support of land and resource managementDisturbance is a key component of boreal-forest ecosystems, impacting their structure and functions. In Alberta, disturbances are both natural and anthropogenic, including > 30,000 sqkm of harvest areas. The recovery of all types of forest disturbance influences not only local landscapes, but also carbon dynamics and biodiversity. In the face of a changing climate, the imp...
From ancient cave drawings depicting hunting grounds to hand-sketched layouts of backyard gardens, humans conceptualize space through map making. Maps serve both to capture what exists on the landscape and to plan future uses by intentionally defining where specific activities can happen. Modern satellite technology creates geospatial datasets that can contribute to current and proposed land use management planning, all underpinned by the pursuit of the public good.Background
Accurate mapping of road networks is essential for navigation, disaster response, and urban planning. Traditional methods relying on remote sensing images, Lidar data, and GPS trajectories are hampered by time-consuming manual updates and incomplete extraction due to obstructions from trees, buildings, and shadows. However, recent advancements in deep learning models have shown promise in improving road mapping and automating the detection of missing roads.This study uses a transfer le...
Maintaining undisturbed habitat is key to the recovery strategy of the Woodland Caribou boreal population. Seismic lines have been identified as a human footprint feature that requires specific attention for habitat restoration in part because linear features are linked to increases in the predation rates of caribou as they provide lines of sight and easy transportation routes for predators. It is estimated that there are hundreds of thousands of kilometers of seismic lines within Alberta (AB...
Large-scale habitat inventories are necessary for understanding how human land-use, natural disturbances (e.g., fire) and climate change are influencing ecological processes, species declines and how restoration can address these changes. Within the boreal forest of Alberta, Canada anthropogenic habitat alteration, also referred to as human footprint or the physical disturbance of a landscape as a result of human activity, covers over 19% of the land area. Much of this human footprint is not ...
Session Human footprint datasets for Canada: mapping and monitoring in support of land and resource managementHuman activities have disturbed biodiversity, ecosystems, and ecological processes over the last century. Given the growing trends of habitat loss and biodiversity decline, understanding patterns of human pressures has become a crucial element of conservation planning. In this context, cumulative pressure mapping is used to quantify the extent and intensity of multiple pressure...
Regional and provincial conservation efforts require detailed human pressure mapping to manage and mitigate human impacts effectively. However, in the province of British Columbia (BC), existing efforts to map human pressures have faced significant challenges, particularly in adequately capturing their full extent. The Geospatial Centre of Biodiversity Pathways at the University of Northern British Columbia, in collaboration with the West Moberly First Nations and the Alberta Biodiversity Mon...
The health of the global ocean environment is of critical importance. Planetary limits for climate change and biodiversity are being reached, and unsustainable resource management practices are rampant. Space-based Maritime Monitoring has proven to provide foundational support for sustainable management of ocean resources. In the Keynote, John will provide a high-level overview of ocean problems, space-based maritime monitoring, the beneficiaries and outcomes of the application of...
The government of Alberta manages the production of riverine flood studies under the provincial Flood Hazard Identification Program, to assist communities in keeping Albertans safe and protecting their properties from floods. Flood maps improve public safety, support emergency management, and help us build safer and more resilient communities. The government of Alberta also manages the production of alluvial fan studies to help Albertans learn about flood risks in the steep terrain of Alberta...
Despite the rhetoric surrounding the use of building information modelling (BIM) to enhance collaboration by connecting people and data, the status quo is to work with proprietary solutions and closed file formats, limiting accessibility and interoperability. Additionally, the increasing complexity of projects in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations (AECO) industry requires technology that integrates data at a range of scales, from asset to city, and beyond. To address ...
Methane is a greenhouse gas that has a global warming potential 80 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Reducing methane emissions from industrial facilities is one of the most effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This talk gives an overview of GHGSat’s approach to providing stakeholders actionable data by detecting, geolocating, and quantifying methane emissions using our fleet of space-based and airborne instruments.
miércoles 30 octubre, 2024
We will explore tangible ways in which to involve Indigenous people, especially youth, in a new ad, emerging infrastructure business sector.Dale Booth will lead you through a more fulsome understanding of Indigenous inclusion and participation on major infrastructure projects and how working with Indigenous companies, especially in the BIM modelling space, can greatly improve opportunities for everyone.Innovation 7 has been successful in the identification of training and work p...
Local governments have been updating their asset inventories to comply with the TCA legislation since the early 2000s, paying particular attention to the attributes, locations, ages and conditions of their assets. However, infrastructure changes constantly due to capital projects and land development, especially in fast-growing municipalities like Kelowna. Collecting accurate and complete information on new assets has been a major challenge, mainly due to limited staff resources. To address t...
Join us for an engaging panel discussion on Geo-Entrepreneurship, featuring distinguished experts from geospatial consultancies, geomatics communication and event companies, and geomatics software firms. This session is designed for those interested in the intersection of geospatial technology and entrepreneurship.Journey to Entrepreneurship: Hear from our panelists on their motivations for leaving traditional careers to pursue entrepreneurial ventures in the geospatial field. Dis...
Photogrammetry is not just limited to aerial platforms. Modern mobile devices contain high-quality cameras and increasingly have LiDAR and depth sensors built in. When combined with high-accuracy GNSS systems, these mobile devices can quickly collect accurate data for utilities, infrastructure, inspection, as-builts, construction, and more. Utilizing these readily available devices can reduce project delays, capture better documentation of utilities, and lay the foundations for digital infras...
Led by the World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC) and moderated by Aaron Addison, Executive Director of WGIC, this panel will explore the transformative role of Earth observation (EO) technologies in fostering a resilient and sustainable future for Canada. With growing environmental challenges such as climate change and resource management, EO solutions provide essential insights into monitoring ecosystems, disaster resilience, and sustainable development. Panelists from diverse sectors wil...
Traditional teaching methods in post-secondary often included using powerpoint presentations and writing on a white or blackboard. The newer generations of students have been exposed to different ways of learning and this requires instructors or teaching professors to change their way of presenting information to help the students learn it at a deeper level. Using a radical constructivism philosophy, the students are required to engage in the material in their own way, connect wit...
In countries that have very accurate and accessible map records, utility damage events are a rare occurrence. Japan with a one third of the population of the US has less than 200 line strikes per year. We will discuss how creating, sharing, and using accurate maps is critical in reducing damage to buried infrastructure.
How do hydrographic surveys, aerial Remote Sensing and GIS help with environmental efforts? Terra explores 2 projects that use a combination of different sensors and visualizations to achieve these goals. The projects include a rapid marine data collection supported by Aerial LiDAR to aid in rescue efforts of a trapped Orca cafe, and using LiDAR with GIS to support change detection efforts of a major land slide.
Reduced snowpack in the Rockies presents a severe drought risk for Southern Alberta. Mountain snowmelt in the Bow and Oldman basins maintains reservoir levels, crop irrigation, municipal and industrial supply, and ecosystem services. As climate and consumption pressures increase, accurate snow water equivalent (SWE) data is crucial for water supply forecasts, which impact allocations and emergency drought measures. Field snowpack monitoring does not provide accu...
In our rapidly evolving urban landscapes, inadequate accessibility maps leave many people with disabilities facing significant challenges. This talk begins by illustrating the problem with real examples of accessibility fails on platforms like Google Maps. Attendees are encouraged to check accessibility features on their phones, highlighting current gaps.We will then explore the necessity of specialized tools for meaningful navigation and destination planning for people with disabiliti...
For the built environment, digitalization is a key sustainability enabler. It helps stakeholders across the construction sector increase productivity and transparency while reducing emissions, resource consumption and costs, and adding digital tools that can help companies establish and optimize their sustainability performance.
