Andrew Yee[_1_]
April 17th 08, 08:47 PM
ESA News
http://www.esa.int
25 March 2008
Satellites take sustainability to new heights
Shell Canada has incorporated Earth Observation data into its Sustainable
Development Report, demonstrating the potential of satellites to provide a
global and cost-effective way to measure objectively the sustainability of
business activities.
Companies that aim to create wealth while also contributing to the long-term
quality of life and respect for the environment regularly issue
environmental audits of their Corporate Sustainable Development (CSD)
activities and report on the 'triple bottom line' of economic, social and
environmental impacts.
In order to quantify sustainability, accurate and timely information on the
state of the environment is needed, which Earth Observation (EO) from space
can provide.
"Unbiased, timed satellite images help build stakeholder trust because they
clearly illustrate the activities taking place in our oil sands mine
leases," Ashley Nixon, Sustainable Development Integration Manager at Shell
Canada, said.
"They present clear, accessible visuals, provide objective information on
development and eventual reclamation of our oil sands leases and help us in
our reporting on environmental performance."
In 2005, ESA began working with large multinational companies as part of its
Earth Observation Support for Corporate Sustainable Development Reporting
(EO-CSD) project to integrate satellite data into CSD reporting practices
across a wide variety of industrial sectors.
Under the project, Hatfield Consultants, an environmental consultancy firm
based in Canada, led a team working with Shell Canada and Albian Sands
Energy to provide EO-based geo-information to support environmental
management and monitoring related to the exploitation of their Athabasca oil
sands located in the north of the province of Alberta. Occupying some 141
000 sq km, the Athabasca oil sands are estimated to be the second largest
known oil reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia.
These bitumen-saturated sand deposits represent the equivalent of between 17
and 25 trillion oil barrels, although unlike conventional crude oil they
need to be mined or extracted in situ rather than simply pumped to the
surface and then specially treated before they can be transported via
pipelines.
As global oil reserves dwindle, the cost of extracting Canada's oil sands
has become feasible: one million barrels of oil are currently extracted
daily and this figure has the potential to double in the next five to seven
years. However this extraction should be carried out while managing the
impact on the Alberta landscape.
Eyes in the sky
EO provides objective coverage across both space and time, EO images show
the world through a wide-enough frame so that complete large-scale phenomena
can be observed with great accuracy. Satellites also remain in place for
long periods, making them able to highlight environmental changes occurring
gradually.
The focus of the satellite data used in this project was to help quantify
habitat change in various ways and to understand how a habitat may be
influenced by the oil sand operations.
ESA's Envisat satellite acquired eight Full Resolution images with its
optical instrument, Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS), covering
the entire northern oil sand region, from 2004 to 2006. Envisat's Advanced
Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) instrument acquired three alternating
polarisation images, one in 2004 and two in 2006. SPOT-5 acquired five
multi-spectral images of the same region, an area of approximately 18 000 sq
km, in 2006.
The before-and-after images record the development of oil sand activities at
the Muskeg River Mine and Jackpine Mine in the Athabasca region of northeast
Alberta.
According to Shell, the images allowed them to monitor vegetation, track
land use changes, capture roads, power lines and other installations that
can fragment habitat. They also provide them with the capability to
establish baseline environmental information before developing new areas.
Based on EO image analysis, mine activity and vegetation habitat change
information was provided for the 2006 Shell Canada Sustainable Development
Report, which was developed in accordance with the 2006 guidelines of the
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The GRI provides a framework for
sustainability reporting, which includes a set of reporting guidelines to
enable reporting on economic, environmental, and social performance.
The EO-based information provided as part of the project, sponsored by ESA's
Earth Observation Market Development (EOMD) Programme, was independently
audited.
"Using 2006 as a baseline, mine development and progressive reclamation will
be monitored every year. In addition, Shell will share learnings with
industry associations to help establish best practices for sustainable
development reporting," Shell said in a statement on its website.
Knowledge sharing
The EO information is not only valuable for corporate environmental
management purposes, but can also provide local residents with unbiased
information regarding the impact of developments in their communities.
Therefore, the EO-CSD project team continues to work with local Aboriginal
communities to demonstrate how EO can be used as part of Shell Canada and
Albian Sands corporate commitments to sustainable development.
Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) documented by the Fort McKay First
Nation (FMFN), whose traditional territory borders Shell's leases, was
integrated with the satellite imagery with the aim of improving the ability
of the community to monitor developments and reclamation on or near their
traditional territories.
"In partnership with the FMFN, Shell will reclaim and restore mined areas by
integrating satellite images with their traditional environmental
knowledge," Darrell Martindale, Manager of Environment and Regulatory
Compliance at Albian Sands, said. "The FMFN can then monitor current and
proposed developments and reclamation plans on or near their traditional
territories."
[NOTE: Images and weblinks supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM8P5M5NDF_index_1.html ]
http://www.esa.int
25 March 2008
Satellites take sustainability to new heights
Shell Canada has incorporated Earth Observation data into its Sustainable
Development Report, demonstrating the potential of satellites to provide a
global and cost-effective way to measure objectively the sustainability of
business activities.
Companies that aim to create wealth while also contributing to the long-term
quality of life and respect for the environment regularly issue
environmental audits of their Corporate Sustainable Development (CSD)
activities and report on the 'triple bottom line' of economic, social and
environmental impacts.
In order to quantify sustainability, accurate and timely information on the
state of the environment is needed, which Earth Observation (EO) from space
can provide.
"Unbiased, timed satellite images help build stakeholder trust because they
clearly illustrate the activities taking place in our oil sands mine
leases," Ashley Nixon, Sustainable Development Integration Manager at Shell
Canada, said.
"They present clear, accessible visuals, provide objective information on
development and eventual reclamation of our oil sands leases and help us in
our reporting on environmental performance."
In 2005, ESA began working with large multinational companies as part of its
Earth Observation Support for Corporate Sustainable Development Reporting
(EO-CSD) project to integrate satellite data into CSD reporting practices
across a wide variety of industrial sectors.
Under the project, Hatfield Consultants, an environmental consultancy firm
based in Canada, led a team working with Shell Canada and Albian Sands
Energy to provide EO-based geo-information to support environmental
management and monitoring related to the exploitation of their Athabasca oil
sands located in the north of the province of Alberta. Occupying some 141
000 sq km, the Athabasca oil sands are estimated to be the second largest
known oil reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia.
These bitumen-saturated sand deposits represent the equivalent of between 17
and 25 trillion oil barrels, although unlike conventional crude oil they
need to be mined or extracted in situ rather than simply pumped to the
surface and then specially treated before they can be transported via
pipelines.
As global oil reserves dwindle, the cost of extracting Canada's oil sands
has become feasible: one million barrels of oil are currently extracted
daily and this figure has the potential to double in the next five to seven
years. However this extraction should be carried out while managing the
impact on the Alberta landscape.
Eyes in the sky
EO provides objective coverage across both space and time, EO images show
the world through a wide-enough frame so that complete large-scale phenomena
can be observed with great accuracy. Satellites also remain in place for
long periods, making them able to highlight environmental changes occurring
gradually.
The focus of the satellite data used in this project was to help quantify
habitat change in various ways and to understand how a habitat may be
influenced by the oil sand operations.
ESA's Envisat satellite acquired eight Full Resolution images with its
optical instrument, Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS), covering
the entire northern oil sand region, from 2004 to 2006. Envisat's Advanced
Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) instrument acquired three alternating
polarisation images, one in 2004 and two in 2006. SPOT-5 acquired five
multi-spectral images of the same region, an area of approximately 18 000 sq
km, in 2006.
The before-and-after images record the development of oil sand activities at
the Muskeg River Mine and Jackpine Mine in the Athabasca region of northeast
Alberta.
According to Shell, the images allowed them to monitor vegetation, track
land use changes, capture roads, power lines and other installations that
can fragment habitat. They also provide them with the capability to
establish baseline environmental information before developing new areas.
Based on EO image analysis, mine activity and vegetation habitat change
information was provided for the 2006 Shell Canada Sustainable Development
Report, which was developed in accordance with the 2006 guidelines of the
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The GRI provides a framework for
sustainability reporting, which includes a set of reporting guidelines to
enable reporting on economic, environmental, and social performance.
The EO-based information provided as part of the project, sponsored by ESA's
Earth Observation Market Development (EOMD) Programme, was independently
audited.
"Using 2006 as a baseline, mine development and progressive reclamation will
be monitored every year. In addition, Shell will share learnings with
industry associations to help establish best practices for sustainable
development reporting," Shell said in a statement on its website.
Knowledge sharing
The EO information is not only valuable for corporate environmental
management purposes, but can also provide local residents with unbiased
information regarding the impact of developments in their communities.
Therefore, the EO-CSD project team continues to work with local Aboriginal
communities to demonstrate how EO can be used as part of Shell Canada and
Albian Sands corporate commitments to sustainable development.
Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) documented by the Fort McKay First
Nation (FMFN), whose traditional territory borders Shell's leases, was
integrated with the satellite imagery with the aim of improving the ability
of the community to monitor developments and reclamation on or near their
traditional territories.
"In partnership with the FMFN, Shell will reclaim and restore mined areas by
integrating satellite images with their traditional environmental
knowledge," Darrell Martindale, Manager of Environment and Regulatory
Compliance at Albian Sands, said. "The FMFN can then monitor current and
proposed developments and reclamation plans on or near their traditional
territories."
[NOTE: Images and weblinks supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM8P5M5NDF_index_1.html ]