Grants and Contributions

This project aims to enhance understanding of Canada's surficial geology by developing an automated method using remote satellite imagery to map landforms like eskers and estimate their composition. By integrating machine learning and morphometric analysis, the project seeks to streamline natural resource projects, particularly those reliant on gravel from eskers, by providing precise remote estimates of aggregate deposits, benefiting infrastructure development initiatives.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, primarily from agricultural activities, pose a significant challenge to global warming, with Canada contributing substantially. By integrating satellite imagery and field-based measurements, this project aims to map high-risk areas for N2O emissions in western Canada, potentially reducing emissions by 40% through targeted mitigation strategies, with real-time recommendations for climate change adaptation.

This project, involving remote sensing specialists and oceanographers from universities and government departments, aims to leverage NASA's PACE mission to improve the accuracy of ocean color observations, particularly in eastern Canada, to better understand the ocean's capacity to uptake carbon and its changes over time. By enhancing phytoplankton biomass estimation and extracting additional information on phytoplankton properties, the research aligns with objectives to address climate change, foster partnerships, and enhance ocean monitoring efforts critical for ecosystem health and carbon management.

This project aims to develop open-access tools integrating LIDAR-derived forest fuel assessments with satellite data to extrapolate critical forest fuel attributes across Canada's forested areas, crucial for effective forest management and fire decision-making. By leveraging innovative modeling techniques and open data distribution, the project seeks to advance forest fuel assessment methods, potentially reaching an Application Readiness Level of 6, offering valuable resources for stakeholders and enhancing wildfire risk management.

This proposal aims to better explain and quantify the effect of solar wind on the exosphere of Mercury and the Moon. This work will improve model predictions for key elemental species in the exospheres of the Moon and Mercury. This will be accomplished using a multiscale combined theoretical approach employing atomistic modelling along with global exosphere modelling. The project will use atomistic modelling to quantify first of their kind mineral specific surface energies. Results will then be verified and improved through comparison with experimental sputtering data. Findings from atomistic modelling will then be linked to global models to quantify the effect on the predicted global exosphere.

Following the JWST ERS and Cycle 2 GO Announcement of Opportunity published on July 6, 2023, the CSA is providing funding via a Grant Agreement to the university to conduct their research using the JWST data.

This project will study how galaxies are shaped by the “bubbles” released by stars that die in supernova explosions. These winds can sweep up material that then forms the next generation of stars. 55 nearby galaxies will be imaged in infrared light to find both young stars and the bubbles that they form in the galaxy.

Following the JWST ERS and Cycle 2 GO Announcement of Opportunity published on July 6, 2023, the CSA is providing funding via a Grant Agreement to the university to conduct their research using the JWST data.

It is known that supermassive black holes exist in the centers of galaxies, these black holes can create winds and outflows called jets in their environments. This project will study the active galaxy 3C305 and determine if star formation in the galaxy is associated with the jet from the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy. If so, the details of how the jet interacts with gas and triggers star formation will be studied.

This project focuses on developing advanced methodologies and artificial intelligence algorithms to validate satellite systems such as EnMAP, Sentinel-2, and PlanetScope, crucial for monitoring Canada's vast peatlands. By leveraging ground-based measurements and hyperspectral drone technology at sites like the Mer Bleue Peatland Observatory, the project aims to enhance Canada's capability to monitor and understand peatland carbon storage and its implications for climate change mitigation.

This project aims to provide vital spatio-temporal maps of sea ice roughness, thickness, and slush conditions for Nunavik communities, crucial for safe and efficient travel in the face of changing climate conditions. By combining traditional knowledge with satellite and ground-based observations, including drone imagery and Ground Penetration Radar, the project will offer near real-time access to reliable satellite maps through collaboration with the Kativik Regional Administration, benefiting the safety and well-being of Nunavimmiuts.

The SWOT satellite, launched in 2022, offers unprecedented capability to measure water levels for Canada's vast network of lakes and rivers, crucial for ecosystems as well as economic and cultural activities. Adapting SWOT data to Canada's context, particularly addressing challenges like ice cover, through a research project will enhance water resource management for entities like Environment and Climate Change Canada and dam operators, aiding in adapting to climate change impacts on water resources.