Satellite Data

The work we do is broken into these predominant sections:

• Agriculture
• Biodiversity
• Forestry
• Landscape

It would take a lifetime to cover each topic. However, this post is about each section's relationship to the satellites we use to collect that information. By tackling this, our objective is to provide our clients peace of mind where that data is coming from. In order for us to provide quality, consistent services, the origination of data is paramount and essential. By knowing exactly where and when that data is collected, we can make calculated informed decisions, mitigate errors when it happens and show consistency in the services we provide. We will focus our blog on satellite data that is available on the public domain. However, clients' requirements are evaluated on a case-by-case basis and in the pursuit of data, we will consider a paid service if needed.

Few assumptions we make here are that we consider both multispectral and hyperspectral systems with passive sensors. LiDAR, RADAR and SONAR tend to be intrusive and whilst further research is required, we will use LiDAR where necessary such as the ANZLIC Committee on Surveying and Mapping's ELVIS - Elevation and Depth Foundational Spatial Data, and any open source BSD license based Point Cloud processing data.

The following list is a potential list of passive scanners used for a specific type of remote sensing. Add in your comments where you see gaps!

Agriculture

We use remote sensing in precision farming. We acquire remotely sensed data at critical dates in the phenological cycle. Data can come from colour and infra red photography, Landsat 8, GeoEye -1, WorldView 2, MODIS, ASTER, AVHRR and Pleiades.

GeoEye-1 (2008), Pleiades-1A (2011), Worldview-3 (2014), SkySat-2 (2014), and Superview-1 (2018), collect multispectral images at a high spatial resolution of ≤2 m with a daily or sub-daily revisit period. Pleiades-1A and Worldview-3 have been used for many PA applications requiring high spatial resolution imagery, including disease and crop water stress detection. To take advantage of a wide variety of publicly available satellite data, several data fusion approaches

Biodiversity

Remote sensing plays a crucial role in biodiversity monitoring and conservation by providing a non-destructive, large-scale method for observing and analyzing biological diversity. It allows for the assessment of ecosystem health, habitat mapping, and tracking changes in species distribution and abundance over time. We can help you with your biodiversity assessments using advances in remote sensing technology, including higher spatial and spectral resolutions and targeted selection bands and consequently defined GIS algorithmic data.

Landsat 7, 8 and 9 together with Sentinel data together with Sentinel 2 data can be used to monitor land-cover maps, land-change detection maps, vegetation monitoring, monitoring of burnt areas. Sentinel 2 provides high-resolution images in the visible and infrared wavelengths, to monitor vegetation, soil and water cover, inland waterways and coastal areas. Spatial resolution of 10m, 20m, and 60m, depending on the wavelength with a revisit time of 5 days to revisit the same area.

Forestry

We can monitor forest cover changes, identify deforestation causes, and assess forest health and structure.

Deforestation tracking - the detection and monitoring of deforestation over time, the identification of areas where forest cover is lost.

Forest degradation - the reduction in quality despite a non-change in area.

Change detection - by comparing the study area over a period of time, we can highlight where forest areas have been converted to other land use such as agriculture or urban development.

Forest Structure and Health - inventory, vegetation mapping and health inventory are also part of services that we can deliver.

Landsat, Sentinel and MODIS are some of the targeted satellite data used for forestry monitoring.

Landscape

We offer insights into land cover, land use and landscape structure at various scales that includes the mapping, monitoring, and modeling of landscape changes, consequently provide crucial information for planning, management, and research. 

Map and Monitor Landscape features - maps to track changes over time, assess the impact of human activities, and monitor natural processes such as deforestation and wetland degradation.Landsat and Sentinel opensource data are highly useful in providing good resolution data over large areas.