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 Proactive disclosure Print version   | |  Archive of Latest News - 2004 This information represents activities in the Earth Sciences Sector Programs (2002-2006). Please refer to Priorities for information on current Earth Sciences Sector Programs.
Department of Canadian Heritage Features Geographical Names Web Site Culture.ca has chosen the Canadian Geographical Names web site as their featured site for November 2004. Culture.ca is an on-line gateway to Canadian culture created by the Department of Canadian Heritage. Visitors to the site can travel through Canada's rich history, tune in to Canada's media, and tour uniquely Canadian landscapes. By featuring the Canadian Geographical Names web site, the department of Canadian Heritage is emphasizing the important role that toponymy plays in Canada's history, geography and culture. Update on Landsat-7 Project GSDNR's Landsat-7 project is almost complete. To date, all 768 images needed to cover the entire Canadian landmass have been collected and inspected, 98% of the images have been completed, and 97% of them have been delivered to partners. Only a few images remain in production in the northern and eastern parts of Canada as illustrated below. The goal of the Landsat -7 National Imagery Coverage project is to produce a national coverage of orthorectified Landsat-7 satellite images as a base layer with a common geometry in order to facilitate the integration of multiple geographic layers. 
National Road Network Receives Award of Excellence from ESRI Canada The National Road Network (NRN), in combination with Statistics Canada and Elections Canada received a joint Award of Excellence at ESRI Canada's annual Regional User Conference in Ottawa. Alex Miller, President of ESRI Canada, the leading geographic information systems (GIS) provider in Canada, presented the award in recognition of the joint GeoBase initiative undertaken by these three groups in building a standardized addressed national road network. More than 350 GIS professionals were on hand for the presentation, which was one of the highlights of the conference. Canada now has its NHN Standard
The documentation describing the official NHN Standard is available in PDF format on the GeoBase website. The Canadian Council On Geomatics (CCOG) commissioned a group of experts from Nova Scotia Geomatics Centre, British Columbia Base Mapping & Geomatics Services, and Natural Resources Canada - Centre for Topographic Information (NHN project, GSDNR program), to undertake the development of the National Hydro Network (NHN) standards. They were tasked to develop the NHN standards by using the same approach that was used for the development of the National Road Network (NRN) standards. Now that the NHN Standard has been reviewed and officially adopted nationally, work will begin to produce GeoBase compliant NHN data by creating an initial version based on existing data. The goal is to produce the first version of the NHN, with complete national coverage, by 2009. Because this project encompasses key concepts of both hydrography and hydrology to describe Canada's surface water system, the NHN model is flexible enough to support several applications including cartographic representation and data analysis in order to satisfy the requirements of a varied user base. Release of the first National Road Network updates The GSDNR program's National Transportation Network (NTN) project recently released the first ever updates to the National Road Network (NRN) for the Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island, and the Yukon. These updates can be found on the GeoBase web site, and are available for download free of charge. These first updates, mark a major milestone for the NTN project as well as for the GeoBase initiative. In addition to highlighting the continued cooperation with the provinces and territories that the NTN project has undertaken, these updates underline on of the key benefits of the NRN project, which is the accessibility of the most recent, accurate, and standardized road network data. More updates to the NRN are forthcoming, with the next set expected to be for the province of Nova Scotia, which should be available in late fall. Subsequent provincial and territorial updates will follow regularly. In addition, the NTN project is now developing and validating a process that will produce files that contain NRN changes (deltas) for each updated NRN dataset. Users will now have a choice of starting with the latest NRN version or integrating changes (deltas) from their previous NRN version to create the latest version of the NRN dataset. Scout Report Identifies Geographical Names Web Site As Key Information Source The Scout Report highlighted the Canadian Geographical Names (CGN) web site as a key toponymic data source in its September 17th, 2004 publication. The Scout Report is a world-renowned Internet service that focuses on research and development endeavours that provide better tools and services for finding, filtering and delivering online information and metadata. Scout relies on first-class content specialists in the areas of computer and library sciences as well as the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities. In its review of the CGN web site, it noted in particular the search features of the Canadian Geographical Names Service, as well as the CGN's educational component, noting that "Geographers, historians, and the generally curious will appreciate this site". This review contributes to the awareness of geographical names and their importance to Canadians as a basic geospatial layer. GSDNR receives letter of support from industry for its help in providing digital elevation datasets A private sector power company recently sent the National Elevation Data Project within GSDNR a letter of thanks for providing digital 1:50,000 national elevation datasets of regions in the NWT. The timely delivery of the datasets enabled the power company to finalize their preliminary project engineering presentations to the NWT government and local communities regarding their proposed project, to be located in the southeastern part of the territory. The project is a green hydro development proposal and will involve local First Nations communities as well as other levels of governments. 2003-2004 Citation of Recognition for Two Canadian Geomatics Companies from Natural Resources Canada Natural Resources Canada, through the Centre for Topographic Information in Sherbrooke (CTIS), would like to acknowledge the performance of two Canadian companies in producing geospatial data. We thank Groupe Trifide Inc. (Quebec, Quebec) for producing vector data for the National Topographic Data Base (NTDB) at the 1: 50 000 scale and also for the planimetric correction of NTDB data sets, and Groupe Info Consult (Sainte-Foy, Quebec) for producing vector data for the NTDB at the 1: 50 000 scale and also for updating digital topographic data. These firms have demonstrated, in the production year 2003-2004, their ability to produce digital data that surpass strict technical requirements. They also met deadlines as stipulated in the contracts and established strong communication links with CTIS technical representatives. The digital geospatial data thus produced contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the "Geomatics for Sustainable Development of Natural Resources" and "Geomatics for Northern Development" programs of the Earth Sciences Sector. Congratulations and thank you for a job well done! 
The National Road Network for the province of Saskatchewan is now available on GeoBase. This new data set offers more than 250 000 kilometres of roads captured between August 2000 and March 2004. Road coverage is concentrated in the south of the province, as shown in the image below. In order to provide a seamless coverage of the road network, some Manitoba road segments have been edited along the Saskatchewan border.
The National Road Network (NRN), one of the main components of GSDNR's National Transportation Networks project, provides a consistent geometric description, and a set of basic attributes for Canadian roads. The road network is updated on a regular basis. The NRN model will be used as a basis for developing the next set of transportation networks including railroads, pipelines and electricity distribution, as well as other topographic networks such as hydrography. These data sets will also support client efforts to build and improve a number of vertical applications such as emergency response (9-1-1), traffic management, and security.
National Atlas Frameworks Release North American Database and Map
Inter-Agency Committee On Geomatics - Special Meeting On The National Hydrographic Network (NHN) On May 12, 2004, the Inter-Agency Committee on Geomatics (IACG) held a special meeting on the National Hydrographic Network (NHN). This meeting, which took place in Ottawa, was intended to complete knowledge transfer to Ottawa's federal community in preparation for the Canadian Council on Geomatics (CCOG)'s vote on the approval of the first version of the national standard for the NHN, which will take place in early June 2004. In addition to presenters from the NHN and participants from the Aeronautical and Technical Services division of the Earth Sciences Sector at NRCan, the meeting was attended by representatives from the following departments: Agriculture Canada, the Department of National Defence (2), Statistics Canada (2), and Public Works and Government Services Canada. This meeting provided updates on the NHN project and allowed for discussions on its objectives and approaches, the hydrographic component of the National Atlas Frameworks, the first version of the national standard for the NHN, and the NHN's upcoming work plan. Participants were pleased to have this opportunity to share information and exchange ideas. No barriers to the approval of the first version of the NHN's national standard were identified and participants expressed interest in proceeding with a more thorough definition of federal needs regarding national hydrographic coverage next fall. Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada Uses 1:1M GSDNR Watershed Framework to assess water quality indicators Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada has just completed the digital integration of the GSDNR 1:1M Watersheds Framework data with census of agriculture frameworks (farm production stats) for the last three census years (2001, 1996, 1991). They plan to continue this integration back to 1986 and 1981. The purpose of this integration is to enable policy researchers to examine changes in water quality indicators over time for various agricultural practices. This work is associated with the National Agri-Environmental Health and Reporting Program (NAHARP) which supports environmental sustainability of Canadian agriculture.
Since April 7th, 2004, a new information layer is available from the GeoBase Portal. This layer consists of the control points that were used in the production of Landsat-7 ortho-images. More than 25 000 points are now available, and updates will be made at the end of September 2004 in order to complete the Canadian coverage (approximately 30 000 points will then be available).
Workshop on standards and data on the themes of road networks, drainage networks, watersheds and toponymy Stakeholders involved in the modelling, production and use of geospatial data on road networks, hydrography and toponymy took part in a key workshop held in Montreal from March 15 to 19, 2004. The workshop attracted more than 65 participants from all Canadian provinces and territories (except Nunavut), five federal agencies and departments (Natural Resources Canada, Environment Canada, Statistics Canada, Elections Canada, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada), the United States (United States Geological Survey (USGS)), the international community (the Commission for Environmental Cooperation) and private industry. The main purpose of the workshop was to consult stakeholders on their skills and interests in order to set up joint initiatives to develop data, production and data maintenance models in relation to the four aforementioned themes. The activity was a great success in terms of both the quality of the presentations and feedback, and the unanimous interest shown in developing national partnerships in the field of basic geospatial data following the principles established by GeoBase. User Group Survey for Earth Observation Calibration and Validation Activities In March 2004, a user study was initiated to provide consultation on the alignment of Earth Observation (EO) calibration and validation activities with the GSDNR program. The consultation involved gathering information through a questionnaire, conducting interviews with key users, and Internet research on the current and potential use of satellite based earth observation data in Canada. An integral part of the study was to seek answers from current users of satellite based earth observation data to the following questions:
Based on the results of the survey, it was concluded that there is a definite need for calibration and validation of earth observation data in support of sustainable resource management. The survey also indicated that there is an urgent need to communicate the values of satellite based earth observation data, as compared to not-satellite based alternatives, to sustainable resource managers.
GSDNR Web Presence Influencing Stakeholders GSDNR launched its website February 3, 2004. Client feedback has been positive including a commitment from FORREX (Forest Research Extension Partnership) in British Columbia to publish an article on GSDNR to inform its members. FORREX represents natural resources agencies, provincial government, crown corporations, industry, communities, First Nations and academia in BC. The GSDNR website is a primary contribution to the program output to "provide continuous communications and outreach activities to partners and stakeholders". Contact: Christian Prevost New Watershed Lookup Service Incorporates National Scale Frameworks Data Environment Canada launched their new Watershed Lookup Service (ec-watershed). Originally developed for the Pockwock-Bowater Watershed study, this service incorporates the 1:1M National Scale Frameworks Hydrology - Drainage Areas dataset, developed by the Geomatics for Sustainable Development (GSDNR) program, as its basis. The service enables a user to determine boundary geometry for watersheds in Canada. This thematic layer can then be incorporated with other feature information within a GIS environment. The lookup service provides a powerful mapping, analysis, and display tool using geospatial data supplied by the GSDNR program. Providing essential geospatial data and information required for supporting actions and decisions related to the management of Canada's natural resources is a major outcome of this program. Contact: Peter Paul (613) 943-0572
National Atlas Frameworks User Study Results In January 2004, two focus-group sessions were held in Ottawa by SRG Consulting on behalf of Consulting and Audit Canada in order to better identify current and future user requirements for National-Atlas Frameworks (1:1M) project. Seventeen participants from various federal departments, universities, and non-governmental organizations involved in sustainable development planning/policy work were present. Focus-group discussion centred on five(5) National Atlas Frame work questions: Features, Content, Scale, Documentation, and Access. Results indicated that the current national-atlas project offered by GSDNR are directly relevant to SD policy work within this user community and that additional national-scale products such as land cover, protected areas, and bathymetry are required. For more information, contact Peter Paul (613) 943-0572 North American Environmental Frameworks A partnership has started to evolve between the Atlas programs in Canada, Mexico, and the United States to develop a harmonized set of North American framework data (hydrology, transportation, population), to be used as an environmental reporting framework. In Canada, development of this framework is being undertaken by the Geomatics for the Sustainable Development of Natural Resources (GSDNR) program. A memorandum of understanding is being developed, and it is planned that the first version of the harmonized North American frameworks will be unveiled in map and electronic form in June 2004. Having frameworks utilized for more effective decision-making by sustainable development policy organizations is an important outcome of the GSDNR program. For more information, contact Peter Paul (613) 943-0572. Archive News 2004
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Canada's National Hydro Network (NHN) Standard is now official. In August, the Canadian Council on Geomatics (CCOG) approved the "National Hydro Network, Canada, Level 1, Edition 1.0" Standard, in accordance with CCOG resolution F03-05 on GeoBase Data Standard Maintenance. The NHN describes and models, as network components, features of the Canadian surface-water system (inland waters and coastline).
