Forestry & Environment
Forestry and Environment
AAM provide the Environment and Forestry sectors with cost effective solutions to their monitoring and assessment needs. Our full complement of leading edge data capture technologies allows us to tailor solutions for all of our clients' geospatial data needs, from small scale habitat assessment to wide area monitoring.
Renewable Energy
Renewable Energy has fast become one of the most important contributors to reducing greenhouse gas emissions globally. As many companies and governments work to rapidly deploy renewable energy initiatives, AAM is at the forefront of helping deliver these economic and energy-efficiency benefits. Renewable energy projects are usually large-scale, so it is imperative to ensure that reliable base data and precise planning tools are utilised. AAM offers a full suite of spatial solutions to renewable energy initiatives. From broad acre elevation and image collection to accurate 3D GIS for planning and visualisation purposes, we can add value to projects whatever the stage.
Contact AAM for professional assistance with your next renewable energy project.
Applications
Disaster response
Detailed digital terrain models for response planning (such as fire prone lands mapping) and rapid capture of conditions using satellite imaging and aerial surveys for active response strategies.
Coastal habitat assessment
AAM can provide the data and analysis you need to minimise the time and cost of exploration programs.
We can capture detailed digital terrain models for determining drainage patterns, modelling inundation and development planning. Vegetation and land cover data can be supplied, as well as underwater structure revealed using bathymetric LiDAR.
Climate change preparedness
Nations with coastal boundaries are putting programs into place to identify and accurately map floodplains and flood hazard areas along coastal regions in expectation of rising sea levels. Digital terrain models are used for modelling possible inundation and, in regions under risk, planning for tsunami mitigation.
REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) programs
Wide area monitoring of vegetation and land cover, and land use, for the assessment and detection of deforestation and reduction in carbon stocks that result in increased carbon emissions and lower global rates of carbon sequestration.
Carbon audits
A phased program of vegetation and land cover data acquisition enables forest managers to determine rates of growth over time, perform biomass measurements and estimate carbon sequestration by areas under their control.
Forest resource management
Vegetation and land cover data, including canopy heights and leaf area, as well as terrain data and forest floor hydrology can all be captured and combined to augment planning and decision making processes for forest resource managers.
Data
Canopy models
Airborne LiDAR can distinguish between ground and canopy strikes, providing mapping of vegetation coverage. This coverage can be categorised by further analysis into features such as tall trees, medium trees, low trees, tall shrubs, low shrubs, grasses and ground.
"Bare earth" terrain models
The ability for airborne LiDAR to penetrate ground cover makes it possible to capture digital terrain models in environments with heavy vegetation. The terrain models are highly accurate and can be used to determine detailed drainage patterns, amongst other uses.
Contours with simultaneous imagery
By combining "Bare earth" terrain models with satellite or aerial survey imagery a realistic model of the environment can be created and supplemented with contours to create vital integrated datasets essential for planning and design purposes.
Historical data - AAM Geospatial Archive
For projects that require historical multi-date imagery, foundation datasets for baseline studies, or severe time constraints, AAM has an extensive geospatial archive that may meet requirements as well as reduce time and costs.
Acquisition Technology
Aerial survey
We have our own fleet of aircraft fitted with high resolution multi-spectral digital cameras. Accuracy upwards of +/- 1cm (vertical height) at 1 sigma and spatial resolution starting at 5cm can be achieved.
Airborne LiDAR
Airborne LiDAR consists of a high frequency laser scanner that records the time differential between the emission of the laser pulses and the reception of the return signal. The position and orientation of the scanner is determined using differential kinematic GPS and an Inertial Measurement Unit. LiDAR creates highly accurate and detailed models of the earth's surface with a height accuracy down to +/- 10cm.
Bathymetric LiDAR
Using different wavelength lasers from standard topographic LiDAR systems (see above), bathymetric lasers will penetrate from between 0 to 50m deep, depending on the clarity of the water, with an accuracy down to +/- 25cm.
Satellite Imagery
AAM partners with satellite imagery providers in order to give our clients access to the highest quality data available for their projects. We can acquire imagery with accuracy down to 50cm and across 8 spectral bands, allowing us to perform advanced segmentation and classification of land and aquatic features. Stereo satellite images for the rapid creation of digital elevation models across large areas are also available.
Post Capture
Expertise
Our geospatial analysts are experts in extracting the most value from geospatial data for our clients. Much of our data provision powers come from careful planning and execution: combining the right imaging technologies, managing data capture for integrity and accuracy, and the selection of post-processing methodologies to give clean data.
At this stage we can supply your data in any number of custom and industry standard formats for your in-house geospatial team. Or our analysts can perform the feature analysis and categorisation your project requires, delivering GIS compliant layer data for use in your GIS system or through one of our hosted services.
Analysis and presentation
For data presentation, or further analysis, AAM offers Geocortex. Geocortex is designed for the rapid creation of web mapping and web GIS applications. The system enables enterprise-wide access to the spatial data we capture for you, in raw and presentation-ready formats. With Geocortex you can integrate the data we supply with your existing corporate data as well as with public datasets available from other services.
Enterprise-wide access to geospatial data improves overall situational awareness and the quality and rapidity of decision making.