Name
Site Monitoring and Remediation of Fugitive Dust, an Earth Observation for Cumulative Effects Study
Date & Time
Friday, May 23, 2025, 11:30 AM - 11:45 AM
Description

Fugitive Dust, or dust generated from mining operations, materials stockpiles and transportation, and from legacy (non-operational) sites, is a significant issue of concern to many communities across Canada. The environmental distribution and impacts of fugitive dust vary across the country, yet this one issue has become a significant consideration for both public consultations and in impact assessment. The short- and long-term regional impacts of fugitive dust on ecosystem and human health are often poorly understood. Dust has the potential to lower the albedo of snow contributing to early snowmelt, mix with available forage leading to detrimental effects on local habitats, and may influence other ecosystem processes as it mobilizes through air and water. At present there remain insufficient methods to fully map the regional distribution of fugitive dust from a site into the surrounding environment. Earth Observation provides valuable information to evaluate the regional distribution of dust around active mining operations and legacy sites. Our studies have looked at Earth Observations for mapping the distribution of fugitive dust at sites surrounded by Arctic tundra, Acadian Forest, and Boreal ecosystems. This includes the direct detection of spectral indicators of dust, regional indicators of the impact of dust in the environment and mapping of landcover types known or expected to accumulate dust. This presentation will provide a review of different Earth Observation contributions towards characterizing the regional distribution as pursued by our Site Monitoring and Remediation led initiatives.

Location Name
Canal (CB) 2104
Session Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract ID
CCA118
Speaker Name
H.Peter White
Speaker Organization
Canada Centre for Remote Sensing Division, Natural Resources Canada
Session Name
CS129 Status and Trends Mapping: Earth Observations for Cumulative Effects