Air photos, satellite images and other remotely sensed datasets are particularly useful for mapping environmental conditions related to surficial geology, topography and vegetation cover and for historical change detection. As a result, JDMA is often called upon to assist with both site-specific and regional environmental studies. These entail mapping contaminated lands from large-scale aerial imagery and EM ground conductivity surveys to detect and map contaminants around well sites, sewage lagoons or other potential contaminant sources.
Other studies entail regional mapping from multispectral satellite imagery, such as a study carried out to assess regional cumulative impacts of hydroelectric development over a large region of northern Manitoba. Other studies have included an assessment of historical land cover and morphological change in the Peace-Athabasca Delta to assess the impact of upstream development, and providing baseline data on land cover, erosion susceptibility and vehicle traffic impacts in the Great Sand Hills of Saskatchewan. JDMA remote sensing specialists analyze multispectral satellite data to detect changes to vegetation health around refineries and mines and for detecting high salinity due to seepage from irrigation canals. JDMA’s ability to combine 3D air photo, multispectral image analysis and geospatial analysis from multiple historical data sources is a strong asset in many environmental applications. JDMA’s knowledge of earth processes is often particularly beneficial for providing insight into the relative importance of natural and human-influenced factors in situations involving shoreline erosion and sedimentation, geohazards, wetlands, drainage and fluvial morphology.