FST Graduate Research Topic

Research Topic: Bigdata analytics for environmental change detection and monitoring
Suggested By: Ali Dewan
Last Update: April 16th, 2025

Physical and ecological diversity and the availability of natural resources of Athabasca River Basin (ARB) have made this land attractive for various human development activities. Major activities in the upper and lower portions of the watershed include forestry, agriculture, tourism, coal mines, oil sands, pulp mills, and urbanization. However, these activities are growing day by day and generating concerns for various environmental and health related issues. The physical and geological changes of ARB causing by increased human development activities may have adverse environmental and human health risks. To balance the conflicting ideals of economic growth and maintaining environmental quality and viability, initiatives should be taken for the sustainable development of ARB. The physical and geological changes of ARB are needed to be monitored and quantified on a regular basis for gathering information about the availability of natural resources, making policies for effective resource uses (e.g., Acts of Government, policy papers, administrative procedures), and ensuring the participation of everyone (including local people) with an interest or “stake” in the land.  In this research, we focus on using big data analytics for effective land and resource use managements, environmental change detection, and monitoring of ARB. Different types of data, such as remote sensing, geographical information system (GIS), climate, soil, and socio economic (census) available from various sources are used in this research. Specifically, various fields of environmental change detection and monitoring will be examined in this research including the following: automated identification of land cover type and land use changes; detection of specific terrain features and vegetation; investigation of dynamic changes in ecological environments on spatial and temporal scale; investigation of vegetation greenness trend over brownness; quantifying the balance of land uses among industries, urban, agriculture, and forestry; producing geomorphological map to understand natural phenomena associated with human activities; and assessment of land suitability and capability for agriculture, industry, and forestry. This research topic is suitable for Project, Thesis, and Essay route students. This research will be jointly supervised with Dr. Junye Wang, Faculty of Science and Technology, Athabasca University.