This service provides Earth Observation (EO) data to ESS programs, the Canadian Space Agency, other government departments, the private sector and other users. The EODS ground segment infrastructure of the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS) provides North American data reception coverage capability. Its ground stations receive EO data from several satellite sensors and maintain archives dating back to 1972. Data is available to support near-real-time applications such as forest-fire monitoring and mapping, natural hazards, and ice monitoring. These data also support non-real-time applications in sustainable development, including resource and land use management and climate change.

High use of EO Satellite Imagery Reception, Archiving & Dissemination

LANDSAT data continues to be heavily used by Canadian government departments and ESS programs. RADARSAT-1 operations for the Canadian Space Agency continued to meet or exceed requirements. ENVISAT near-real time services continued to be provided to the Canadian Ice Services of Environment Canada and services were successfully provided to the Northern View team of the European Space Agency's Global Monitoring for Environment and Security project. ERS-2 data reception services continue to be successfully provided to the European Space Agency to satisfy global dataset requirements.

New AVHRR Dataset for Climate Change Studies

EODS produced a historical Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) dataset for the Reducing Canada's Vulnerability to Climate Change program of ESS. This dataset will be used to produce parameters for a number of measurements: surface reflectance, normalized difference vegetation index, leaf-area index, snow-ice cover, land-cover, and ecosystem productivity. Other government departments and agencies have expressed interest in obtaining this same historical dataset for their purposes. For instance, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is interested in using the data to support its research on sea surface temperatures.

New Canadian EO Satellite Acquisition Management System Up and Running

MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates developed a new $960,000 Canadian Earth Observation Satellite Acquisition Management (CEOSAM) system for CCRS of ESS. Funded by the Canadian Space Agency as part of a three-year RADARSAT-2 ground segment development project, the system will be used to accept user orders for receiving satellite data, interface with satellite operating agencies, perform acquisition and reception planning including conflict resolution, and receive post-pass reception reports. This highly automated system improves satellite acquisition performance and reduces operating costs.

New Data Acquisition and Facility Control System Operational

MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates developed a new Data Acquisition Facility Control (DAFControl) system for CCRS of ESS. The Canadian Space Agency, as part of its three-year RADARSAT-2 ground segment development project, funded this $1.9 million system. DAFControl receives satellite reception schedules from Satellite Acquisition Services (SAS), tasks and controls all reception and archiving equipment, and sends post-pass reception reports to the SAS. By better automating these processes, the DAFControl system improves performance and lowers operating costs.

The Canadian Geodetic Service (CGS) of ESS maintains the Canadian Spatial Reference System (CSRS) as a national standard for all positioning information in Canada. This associated reference frame for latitude, longitude, height, and gravity serves as the foundation for spatially referenced information systems and related geoscience needs. Maintaining the CSRS involves monitoring the Earth's rotation and tectonic movements for determining related time-variable parameters that are implicated in global climate change, meteorology, and space sciences.

GPS Observations Provide Evidence of Crustal Motion in Eastern Canada

Global positioning system (GPS) observations from the Canadian Base Network (CBN) reveal a consistent pattern to the vertical movement of the Earth's crust in Canada. These crustal movements are a delayed response to the retreat of the last ice age. The observations reveal that the crust is consistently lifting by as much as a centimetre a year near Hudson Bay and sinking by a few millimetres a year near the Central U.S. border. This insight improves our understanding of sea level and lake-level changes-a key to understanding the effects of climate change. The GPS-derived pattern of horizontal crustal motions also helps us understand earthquakes in eastern Canada.

Users Locking on to Precise GPS Positioning Internet Service

Use of the new Internet GPS Precise Point Positioning service is rapidly increasing. This on-line service provides accurate, CSRS-compatible latitude, longitude, and height coordinates. Unlike traditional GPS positioning techniques, the new service works using data from a single GPS receiver without the need to find or occupy conventional geodetic control points. This freedom makes GPS positioning more efficient, reducing costs for both users and ESS. Users simply submit their GPS receiver data files, and the service automatically produces accurate coordinates. This novel approach makes it possible to connect to the CSRS from anywhere in Canada-a particular benefit in remote regions.

CGS Shares Expertise to Transform Data and Prepare for Future

CGS of ESS provided expertise to the City of Toronto to transform its legacy spatially-referenced data into the latest globally consistent national spatial reference system. During the last few years, CGS has helped a majority of provincial jurisdictions conduct this same process. Moving to this reference system not only simplifies the use of GPS technologies for generating and using spatially-related information, but also facilitates the sharing and integration of geospatial data across organizations.

Geodetic Expertise and Infrastructure Plays Role in Innovation for Canada's Future

CGS is a partner in five projects recently announced by the Geomatics for Informed Decisions (GEOIDE) National Centre of Excellence. CGS will lend both expertise and infrastructure to these projects, which promise numerous practical benefits to Canadians. Two projects will prepare for changes that the imminent launch of Europe's Galileo System, or GPS III, will bring to positioning and navigation applications in Canada. Two other projects are investigating the use of space geodetic techniques for monitoring the Earth and mapping the oceans, which could lead to a better understanding of climate change and natural hazards. Another CGS project will study the use of GPS technology for a national vapour-estimation system that could play a role in weather forecasting.

By operating and maintaining the Canada Lands Survey System (CLSS) within ESS, the Surveyor General of Canada protects the interests of the Government of Canada, which owns the vast majority of Canada Lands. These lands are defined in the Canada Lands Surveys Act and include approximately 2,600 Indian Reserves, the National Parks system, the off-shore areas of Canada, and both private and Crown lands in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. The primary objective of the Canada Lands Survey System is to provide the foundation to establish property rights on Canada Lands by defining, describing, and documenting the extent of all land interests.

Users to Gain from CLSS Benchmarking and Best Practices

Legal Surveys Division of ESS is establishing a point of reference for the CLSS. This point of reference will help the CLSS better meet the needs of its users and serve as a worldwide best-practices model. In October 2004, a Legal Surveys Division task force developed eight principles that will guide this benchmarking exercise. Among these principles are: provision of an effective property rights infrastructure, allowing users to view the extent and nature of all property rights and restrictions, and simplification of adopting standards for a national cadastral data model based on the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure.

Integrated Cadastral Management Project to Produce Land-Information Reference

The Legal Surveys Division of ESS has embarked on a project to develop an integrated cadastral management (ICM) system. The cadastre will use geospatial information to reliably represent legal surveys and registered land tenure, and this representation will provide users with a base to reference other land-related information. To deliver this capability, the ICM project will review, develop, and recommend improvements to business processes and to geospatial data models and geographic information systems tools that support the strategy of ESS.

Canada Boundary Management and Property Systems Program

This ESS program is designed to deliver the key elements of the CLSS in a cadastral management environment, which will be integrated with other components of the property rights systems on Canada Lands. The program will develop a new cadastral management framework that supports northern development, First Nations self-reliance, management of Canada's ocean space, sustainable development of natural resources, and cadastral institutional reform initiatives for developing communities. In addition, the program will provide the infrastructure required to support a national cadastral data layer for Canada on the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure. This layer will provide access to socio-economic information related to the cadastral parcel.