Canada - US Satellite Mapping Partnership

âThis agreement reflects a lengthy history of joint research and mutual collaboration between our two countries,â said the Honourable Gary Lunn, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources. âWorking together, this partnership will allow us to share information and maximize our scientific knowledge so that we can better monitor the changes of our land, including the permafrost areas in the North.ââNatural processes like wildland fires do not stop at the border, so this type of information is critical for identifying land-cover trends,â said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne. âThis new international partnership will build on the expertise of both the Canadian and U.S. science agencies and lead to a more comprehensive and standardized monitoring of North America's land cover.â Land cover is the product of both natural processes and human influences. Land-cover information is essential for a wide variety of issues, such as assessing ecosystem status and health; understanding spatial patterns of biodiversity; land-use planning; and developing land-management policy. Human modification of land cover has important implications for environmental quality and natural resources availability, quality and use.The agreement involves a dynamic land-cover monitoring system for all of North America and the development of permafrost modelling applications. There are also future projects planned for longer-term collaboration on the development of radar applications.The land-cover mapping initiative will be useful to both countries, for the tri-national (including Mexico) Commission for Environmental Cooperation and for international initiatives jointly undertaken by members of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO). One of many examples of how unified North American land-cover mapping may be used is in monitoring wildfire risk across national borders. Collaborative efforts in the development of permafrost applications will focus first on mapping the Yukon River basin. A key application in joint permafrost mapping will be assessing the impacts of climate change on human settlements, physical infrastructure and ecosystems in both countries.The U.S. Geological Survey serves the U.S. by providing reliable scientific information and Earth observations to describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) plays a pivotal role in helping shape the important contributions of the natural resources sector to the Canadian economy, society and environment.

Author: Natural Resources Canada

For more information visit:

http://news.gc.ca/cfmx/view/en/index.jsp…