NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Sahtu Settlement Area

Tags: physical sciences, petroleum industry, environmental monitoring, remote sensing, topography, landscape assessment

Objective(s): The purpose of the project is to determine the feasibility of using remote sensing technologies to evaluate the environmental status of former sites.

Project Description: WorleyParsons, on behalf of Imperial Oil, is planning to conduct a remote sensing pilot project through use of a fixed-wing aircraft to capture environmental information on approximately 100 former drilling sites, as well as some former staging areas, campsites, artificial islands in the Beaufort Sea and other facilities located in the Northwest Territories. The purpose of the project is to determine the feasibility of using remote sensing technologies to evaluate the environmental status of former sites. The majority of the sites can be found in the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula and Mackenzie Delta within the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. To begin the proposed project, highly specialized remote sensing equipment will be installed in the aircraft. The aircraft will then fly over the sites at altitudes of between 1,000 and 5,000 ft, to collect air photo images of the sites, and map and survey the site locations. The imagery will then be compared with environmental data, where available, from ground surveys collected in previous years. The researchers would like to perform this project to test the effectiveness of remote sensing as an environmental assessment tool and also to use the information they gather from the project to prioritize sites to plan potential future work programs if needed. The remote sensing technologies Imperial Oil plan to use are hyperspectral imaging and thermal infrared sensing, two technologies that collect very clear air photo images and image information (i.e. size of water bodies, landforms, etc.); and LIDAR, a technology that gives information on the relative elevation of surface features or topography used for mapping. WorleyParsons is the consultant executing the project on behalf of Imperial Oil, and six potential contractors have submitted qualifications and interest in bidding on the work of collecting the remote sensing imagery. The contractors will be encouraged to use, and partially evaluated on their use of, Inuvialuit and Northern Businesses. All appropriate permitting and consultation is planned to ensure the project is safe, successful and of no impact to the environment or local residents. The researchers will provide a written or oral project update/summary in 2010. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted between June 01 and September 30, 2009. Fixed wing aircraft will be carrying hyperspectral and LIDAR sensors to fly over each site and collect digital data. There are approximately 100 remote pilot project sites located throughout the ISR and possibly 12 sites in the Sahtu region. The majority of the sites within the Inuvialuit Settlement Region can be found in the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula and Mackenzie Delta. Airport sites will be Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk, and possibly Norman Wells. All operations will be based out of Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk, or Norman Wells and on-board the aircraft, therefore, remote camps will not be required.