Satellite data first entered everyday public life in the 2000s, when the Global Positioning System (GPS) and digital maps on smart phones made paper maps obsolete for many. But satellites do so much more than position us on maps. From their vantage point above, they deliver information that is now shifting how we view and understand our world.
Alongside over 100 other countries, including those in the European Union, Canada has committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. To make this charted course a reality, governments, companies, not-for-profits and the public need information to make the decisions needed to get us there.
The NRC's Ocean program is a key partner in this project funded by the European Space Agency. Known as the Cerulean Information Factory (CIF), this project focuses on the North Atlantic Ocean and involves using satellite data to accelerate the transition of Canada and Europe to a sustainable ocean future. Experts from the NRC's Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering Research Centre contribute technical expertise and satellite data capabilities that are essential to advancing the project's goals in support of safe shipping, offshore renewable energy and aquaculture.
Canada has the longest coastline in the world by far, and an enormous ocean area to manage. This represents not only a vast management responsibility, but also an opportunity. When it comes to Canada's coastline and the hard-to-reach ocean areas, satellites are a critical mechanism for collecting the data and other information we need for this management responsibility.
"What space observations allow you to do is get a snapshot of a large area at a single time. And you can have that snapshot repeated and repeated over time in a systematic manner," says Dr. Ali Khan, Senior Engineer with the NRC's Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering Research Centre.
Satellites generate multiple different kinds of "snapshots," depending on the application. They use the sun's light to produce images of the Earth like the ones we're familiar with in our day-to-day lives. But satellites can also capture thermal wavelength bands to create heat maps using a technology called infrared thermal imagery. In the case of oceans, infrared thermal images make the currents visible. These images, when translated into sea surface temperature maps, make it possible to predict the formation and location of phenomena such as marine heatwaves, which are unusually high surface temperatures over extended periods of time. Knowledge about these heatwaves is critical for managing aquaculture sites.
Satellites can also produce images using radar, sending out radar signals and capturing their reflections. These images, called synthetic aperture radar images, can be obtained without light and under atmospheric conditions such as rain and clouds. This type of imaging is particularly well suited for collecting data in the dark winters and in the cloudy conditions of polar regions, and as Khan says, "with high accuracy and in all weather." Radar images can show the presence of sea ice and its movement, both of which are important for safe shipping and managing offshore renewable energy installations in higher latitudes.
The ongoing CIF project, set to be completed in the spring of 2026, also involves tailoring the tools used to meet the needs of decision makers in shipping, aquaculture and offshore renewable energy, in both Atlantic Canada and Western Europe. The end result will be a cloud-based platform that industry, governments, not-for-profits and other decision makers can use for a variety of activities.
Examples of uses:
- To plan safe shipping routes in ice conditions that minimize travel time and fuel consumption
- To assess the vulnerability of sites for offshore wind installations, considering factors such as expected winds, wave and storm and ice conditions
- To manage aquaculture sites and the effects of marine heat waves, superchill events (where ocean water temperatures drop below zero) and harmful algal blooms
"The Cerulean Information Factory has the potential to bring together relevant data and present them in a way that is easily understandable and digestible by different stakeholders," says Dr. Khan. "And, therefore, the path from these data and other information to better decision making should be shortened with such a platform."