Canadian Emergency Preparedness Agency Purchases IKONOS Imagery for Homeland Security
Images To Be Used for Disaster Risk Assessment at Key Border Areas
Canada’s Office of Critical Infrastructure
Protection and Emergency Preparedness (OCIPEP) has purchased 8,800 square
kilometers of one-meter IKONOS satellite imagery to be used for routine
disaster risk assessment and emergency preparedness along the Canada-United
States border.
The contract, which was negotiated by Space Imaging reseller PhotoSat
Information Ltd., (Vancouver, B.C.) will provide imagery and data for eight
border areas and towns including the Yukon-Alaska border, the Quebec-Vermont
border, Sault Ste. Marie, Sarnia, Windsor and Niagara Falls. The mapping
initiative is part of an overall border security effort spearheaded by the
Canada/United States Critical Infrastructure Protection Steering Committee,
formed after the signing of the 2001 Smart Border Agreement by Canada and
the United States. OCIPEP is a member of the committee’s mapping subgroup.
The value of the contract was not disclosed.
Ian Becking, manager, Geomatics, OCIPEP, said that his office worked closely
with PhotoSat to identify key border areas for study with one-meter imagery.
“We focused on regions where we needed new data. The IKONOS imagery from
Space Imaging will be used to update our existing imagery databases. We
regularly collect satellite images and data to support predictive computer
models that help us better anticipate and respond to events such as storms,
flooding and other disasters that can impact infrastructure.”
“Because of its spatial resolution and accuracy, the IKONOS imagery
purchased by OCIPEP provides essential data regarding geography, topography
and critical infrastructure,” said Gerry Mitchell, president of PhotoSat.
“Using this information, OCIPEP can build predictive models to anticipate
disasters, determine access routes for firefighters and police, and plan in
advance evacuation routes, emergency shelters and medical supply
distribution centers. In addition, the agency can respond more effectively
with up-to-date satellite image maps for contingencies.”
Gene Colabatistto, president of solutions at Space Imaging, said satellite
imagery is becoming more common in government planning efforts regarding
homeland security. “In the United States for instance, commercial satellite
imagery is ideally suited to monitor coasts and borders, nuclear facilities,
railway lines and utilities; anywhere where a natural disaster or attack
could occur. Commercial imagery married with GIS technologies can be the
backbone of homeland security.”
About PhotoSat
PhotoSat is a team of geophysicists and associated geoscientists
specializing in the computer processing of satellite image data for the
identification, evaluation, monitoring and regulation of natural resources
and the mapping of related infrastructure. Their goal is to provide
satellite imagery and derived information sets that enable decision makers
in the resource industries to make better decisions in less time. Their
principal clients are mining, oil and gas, forestry and environmental
companies and government agencies.
PhotoSat distributes Landsat 7 images and imagery products under sublicense
from Natural Resources Canada, the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS).
Landsat 7 data acquired by CCRS covers all of Canada, Eastern Alaska and
most of the continental U.S.A. PhotoSat recently changed its name from
Resource GIS and Imaging to reflect the company’s increased focus on
providing satellite imagery and derived data products. PhotoSat was Space
Imaging’s largest-volume North American distributor in Q1 2003.
About Space Imaging
Space Imaging is the premier provider of satellite imagery enabling
businesses, governments and individuals to better map, measure, monitor and
manage the world in which we live. Based near Denver, Colo., Space Imaging
radically transformed the Earth information market when in 1999 it launched
IKONOS, the world’s first commercial high-resolution imaging satellite.
Today, Space Imaging’s products are the cornerstone of the remote-sensing
industry. The company supplies the highest quality, most accurate, visual
information about the planet’s changing natural and cultural features. Space
Imaging’s customer-centric business lines include imagery from satellites
and aircraft, decision-support geospatial solutions, and direct access to
its satellites for corporations and governments. With expected 2003 revenues
over $200 million, Space Imaging is a privately held company with partners,
resellers and 13 affiliate ground stations around the world. For more
information on products and services, please visit
www.spaceimaging.com.
