A PCI USE CASE:
The Emergency Geomatics Service (EGS):
Providing Satellite-Derived Information to the
Emergency Management Community
Natural Resources Canada,
Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation
Geneviève Marquis,
Doctoral Candidate, M.Sc, M.Adm
Manager, EGS

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

(and where is PCI in this??)
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What is EGS ?
 The beginning…the concept of
RISK and Cartography
EGS Vision: Using Earth
Observation to provide emergency mapping products and services.
Photo credit: http://luisguijarro.com/2011/09/08/underwaterphotography-simply-a-rock/simply-a-rock
/
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 Since 2006 the EGS team has provided emergency response mapping across
Canada and has responded to International emergency mapping requests from DND.
 Primarily provide support for floods, and ice-jams..
 What’s new this year?
 Methods/Application:
 Increased Automation for Floods
 Pilot project to map ice condition during spring breakup in northern Ontario to help identify potential ice jams.
 Geo Intelligence to support operations for Wildfires
 Two sites: Sherbrooke (primary for floods) and Ottawa (primary for ice)
 1 team/2-locations, 1 system
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How it works?
NRCan
& its mandate with the
Emergency Act
Domestic
(Public Safety)
Ice
Jams
Floods
EGS
Wild
Fires
International
(DND)
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How it works?
 Image is acquired.
 Image is processed
(PCI), and intelligence is extracted.
 4-6 hours from
Reception to Product delivery to Public safety
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How it works?
PCI and Radarsat Imagery
 EGS Flood and River Ice Breakup Mapping with Radarsat-2
 Workflow developed in Geomatica 2015 using Python scripting, with all the attendant advantages
 PCI in the forefront providing detailed support of Radarsat-1 and
Radarsat-2
 PCIDSK file format adheres to open standards, allowing for development of custom modules by users.
 Historically, a long standing beneficial relationship between CCRS and PCI
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 To support Public Safety Canada’s Common
Operating Picture (COP) and Situational Reports
(SitRep) for flood events
 For near-real time emergency response situational awareness
 To facilitate local on-the-ground decisions
 To support potential deployment of DND troops in
Canada or DART overseas for emergency response assistance
 In media briefings
Photo: CBC.ca
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
Ice Breakup Conditions Monitoring Products
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Sheet Ice Cover (smooth)
Rubble Ice Cover (rough)

Ice Breakup Conditions Monitoring (New Product)
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EGS future state
Externally Funded Projects
• Government Related Initiatives Program (GRIP)
Goal: to improve our methods and algorithms to better target floods and ice jams in problems zones, i.e., urban and flooded vegetation areas. CSA contribution.
• Data Utilisation and Application Plan (DUAP)
Goal: to transition of our operations from RS-2 based to Radarsat
Constellation Mission (RCM). CSA contribution
• Volunteer Geographic Information
Goal: to initiate the “Citizen-Science”, data validation from a mobile app. Validation in Fort Albany, Spring 2016. Capacity-building and Tech Transfer with First Nations.
Public Safety contribution
Research and Development
Urban Area
Flooded Vegetation Area
Geo Intelligence for WildFire
Federal Geospatial Platform
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Geneviève Marquis
613-410-4982
Genevieve.Marquis@canada.ca
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