Alberta's Wet Areas Mapping Initiative
Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, in close partnership with the Forest Watershed Research Centre of the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management at UNB, has completed the development of wet areas datasets for 14 million hectares in the Alberta Foothills and Boreal Region. The wet areas mapping dataset, completed at 1 metre resolution using light distance and ranging (LiDAR) technologies, are now freely available for users in the energy sector. The next phase will complete an additional 7 million ha northeast of Edmonton.
This one day workshop demonstrated the utility of wet areas mapping in reducing operational costs (layout and access planning, wet-area reconnaissance) and fostering stewardship of Alberta's landscapes, and was attended by resource managers, engineers, and biologists working within the oil & gas and pipeline sectors.
The attendees:
- increased their awareness of Alberta's wet areas mapping initiative; a 2011 ASTECH Honouree for outstanding achievement in environmental innovation (see: LIDAR-based wet-areas mapping and Alberta Wet Areas Mapping 2011 ASTECH awards )
- learned more about predicting where water or wet areas may limit operational productivity
- learned about new software that optimizes recreational trail and road placement so as to limit need for culverts and expensive trail and road maintenance
- learned how this product and associated tools can aid in spill response planning
- learned how to access and best utilize this new data source and associated models
Go here to find out more about Wet Area Mapping at UNB.
