The first panel discussion at the Canadian Symposium on Remote Sensing yesterday was on Space-Based Earth Observation. It was chaired by Eric Loubier, the new Director General of the Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation at Natural Resources Canada. Leading up to the discussion an engagement paper was released by the Canadian Space Agency, though if you didn’t know where to find it, you likely wouldn’t know it existed. You can download the paper below.
This week the Canadian Remote Sensing Society is holding its 41st Canadian Symposium on Remote Sensing. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic organizers had to move quickly to pivot the event to an online format. For the most part it has been smooth running, with only a few technical glitches.
The conference is a mix of live talks, panels and pre-recorded sessions, along with online networking opportunities. In the opening keynote the organizers noted at one point that around 140 people in attendance.
What is Space-Based Earth Observation
The Canadian Space Agency in the engagement paper defines Space-Based Earth Observation (SBEO) “as the gathering of data about the Earth’s physical, chemical, and biological systems using satellites. SBEO also involves monitoring changes in natural and built environments. SBEO critically supports other observations conducted by aerial and ground systems. Together, all of these platforms (space, aerial, ground) make up the wider field of Earth observation (EO).”
According to Loubier, and as outlined in the panel description “after the 2018 National Earth Observation Forum and following Canada’s new Space Strategy, the Government of Canada (GC) has been exploring the future of SBEO in Canada through an interdepartmental effort focused on improving the acquisition, use and ultimately – the impact – of SBEO. We recognize that charting a new course for SBEO to better meet departmental mandates and strengthen our own federal services must also provide a healthy landscape for Canadian companies, researchers, and other levels of government: to access EO data, develop solutions, stimulate economic activity, and foster a next generation of world-class experts in all the technologies and sciences related to the field.”
Loubier also points out that “it is vital now to engage the broader SBEO stakeholder community in Canada. We want to hear from you – Canadian stakeholders in academia, industry, provinces, territories, municipalities, and indigenous governments – regarding the best pathways and measures to advance SBEO capabilities for the benefit of Canadian business, researchers, students, decision makers, and citizens.”
The engagement paper provides background on where we’re at with SBEO, and importantly for conference attendees forewarned, asks them to comment on six questions.
- From your stakeholder perspective, what are the priority actions for advancing SBEO capabilities in Canada?
- How can Canada maximize the potential of SBEO data to solve everyday problems for Canadians?
- What would allow Canada’s commercial SBEO sector (upstream, midstream, or downstream) to reach its full potential in strengthening the economy and creating jobs?
- What can be done to facilitate a strong role for SBEO in maintaining Canada’s leadership in scientific and research excellence?
- Are the SBEO best practices identified in this document aligned with your perspective as a stakeholder in the SBEO landscape?
- Given your position as a SBEO stakeholder, how do you see yourself contributing to, or benefiting from, addressing the challenges outlined in this paper?
Those interested can still contribute to the discussion by sending their answers to the above questions to earth.observation.terre@canada.ca.
The six future challenges
The engagement paper is divided into five sections to provide background and promote further discussions.
This includes the Introduction, Canada’s Challenges and SBEO, SBEO Best Practices, Why Now? A Changing Planet and the Evolving Nature of SBEO, and Your Feedback: How Do We Get There? The document also includes an Annex that outlines future capabilities for the six future challenges.
Of note, and extremely relevant in todays world, is the Healthy Canadians challenge. Of the three future capabilities listed, the Forecasting and Preparing for Disease Spreading Conditions is one I’m sure many wished existed already. It states “predictive models enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI) will routinely merge ground and satellite data sets to provide months of lead time on conditions favourable to West Nile, Lyme disease, and other illnesses. An agile monitoring system will be able to rapidly shift from monitoring to response when peak conditions arrive, adjusting to deliver information in real time.” The benefits associated with meeting this challenge are that “public health authorities will be able to operationalize custom management strategies as they identify transmission risk long before transmitting species have time to spread or environmental conditions arise.”
The work done to date in preparing for future SBEO efforts appears well thought out. Meeting the challenges by deciding on a long-term plan, including which areas to prioritize, costing and funding such a plan, is the hard work that lays ahead.