Geomatics News

Sedna Epic Expedition

A team of passionate sea women divers will embark on journey, snorkeling over 3,000 kilometres through frigid arctic seas from Pond Inlet, Nunavut, to Inuvik, Northwest Territories. Kitrina Godding, who presented at the GANS GIS Day event last month is one of the women on the Sedna Epic Expedition project.

Kitrina is an offshore surveyor, became fascinated with the water at a young age and has continued to have a passion for the ocean throughout the years. She became scuba certified in 2007, has participated in numerous clean-up dives and has dove in 4 different countries to date. 

The opportunity and challenge provided by the Sedna Expedition was brought to her attention by close friends and she immediately wanted to join the team. Kitrina has been a member and volunteer in the female youth Guiding movement for 18 years and is looking forward to working alongside the youth of Iqaluit.

Kitrina relocated to Boca Raton, Florida upon graduation from the Centre of Geographic Sciences (COGS) and worked as a nearshore surveyor conducting beach erosion surveys. 

During this time she was also a support diver with the Marine Biologists at the company. Kitrina has experience with Real-time Kinematic and Differential GPS, Single and Multi-beam hydrographic data collection, Side Scan Sonar, Seismic, Magnetometer and Sparker surveys. Kitrina conducted studies in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Her most current job role consists of operating navigation software which monitors underwater equipment installed on remotely operated vehicles for the purpose of taking geographic positions on seismic survey nodes. 

Kitrina holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology and Geography from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia as well as an Advanced Diploma in Marine Geomatics from COGS in Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia. 

Students are invited to produce a creative map that focus on the theme of

The Maritimes: a Region of Fascinating Weather

The Creative Art/Map Competition for Nova Scotian Students is meant to to promote student’s creative representation of their province, to enhance their cartographic awareness, and to make them more conscious of Nova Scotia’s Maritime Environment. And have some fun while doing it!

Nova Scotian teachers/students may submit maps, on the theme “Nova Scotia - A Region of Fascinating Weather”.

Categories of competition: 

1. Primary – Grade 2 - Creative Maps
2. Grade 3 – Grade 5 - Creative Maps
3. Grade 6 – Grade 8 - Creative Maps 

Rules & Guidelines for contest can be downloaded here ...

Prizes will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place entries in all categories

Deadline for submission: December 16, 2016

For More Details see http://gans.ca/Map-Competition.html

Many questions related to issues in Nova Scotia such as climate, poverty, disease, migration, water, energy, and biodiversity all demand geographical analysis. Geographical information has significant impact on all of us: it helps generate economic benefit, influences government policy, delivery of services, and improves our overall quality of life.

GeoConnections is focusing funding towards projects that address the following themes:

• Innovative adoption and further development of CGDI in Canada’s urban environments (also known as Smart Cities); and
  
• Innovative adoption and further integration of sensor data with the CGDI in Canada’s Arctic (also known as Sensor Web or Internet of Things).
  

Interested proponents are invited to submit an expression of interest letter to GeoConnections no later than October 14, 2016.

Please visit this web page to download the Invitation for Projects documentation. http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/earth-sciences/geomatics/canadas-spatial-data-infrastructure/cgdi-initiatives/8908

GeoConnections would appreciate if you could share this information with your stakeholders.

GeoConnections | GéoConnexions

Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation | Centre canadien de cartographie et d’observation de la Terre

Natural Resources Canada | Ressources naturelles Canada

560 Rochester Street | 560 rue Rochester

Ottawa (Ontario) Canada K1A 0E4

[email protected]

On behalf of the Nova Scotia geomatics community, GANS would like to congratulate Jeff McKenna (a GANS corporate sponsor, former GANS VP and board member) on his recent international recognition.

Jeff, a proud member of the Nova Scotia geospatial community was honored to receive the 2016 Sol Katz OSGeo Award during the FOSS4G-2016 conference in Bonn, Germany, in front of 900 attendees (including the head of Google Maps, the head of Esri dev and education, and the whos-who of GEO). 

The award is presented in recognition of Jeff's deep passion for FOSS4G and relentless effort to promote OSGeo Foundation around the world. He has been involved in OSGeo since the foundation was formed in 2006. 

"Today, it isn't about one company or one standard or one software for geomatics, it is about being open and sharing.  Finally, the world gets it. " (Jeff McKenna, Gateway Geomatics).

• More information about the Sol Katz Award
  
• Watch Jeff's Sol Katz Award acceptance video
• More information about FOSS4G
  
• More information about Gateway Geomatics

Call for Proposals: Monitoring Technologies for the Resource Sector $50K in matching funds available to help commercialize innovative remote sensing technologies.

Since 2012 LOOKNorth has invested over $2.2 million and supported 24 Technology Validation Projects with 34 partners across Canada, leveraging more than $5 million in cash and in-kind support from industry and from other funding bodies. We are now soliciting proposals from small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), researchers and academics based in Canada, for projects that promote commercialization of remote sensing and in-situ monitoring technologies that support sustainable development of Canada’s natural resource sector and are of high priority for industry end users.  

The full proposal document, which outlines eligibility criteria, the evaluation and approval process and the priority development areas for end users, can be downloaded at https://www.looknorth.org/CFP

To be considered for funding approval at the October 2016 quarterly meeting of the LOOKNorth Board Committee, full proposals must be received by 6 September 2016. Contact LOOKNorth Program Director Neil Cater (709.864.7808 / [email protected]) for more information or to discuss a potential project.

Anyone can now explore Canada’s remote Sable Island, thanks to Google

With just a few clicks, curious people can explore the inaccessible island’s windswept sand dunes and vast coastline.

HALIFAX—Whether they’re at a desk or on the couch, anyone with an interest in visiting the windswept dunes of Nova Scotia’s remote Sable Island can now do so without getting sand in their shoes. 

Parts of the crescent-shaped island, situated roughly 290 kilometres southeast of Halifax, can now be seen on Google Street View. 

From Google Maps, one click triggers a dizzying switch from the generic blue and green shapes of the map to crisp, 360-degree photographic images. Dozens of seals can be seen lounging in the white sand and blue surf on the expansive shoreline, and horses nibble on sparse grass among the shifting sand dunes.

Click here to continue reading ... 

Nova Scotia’s popular Productivity and Innovation Voucher Program is back on!

Following the 2016 Annual General Meeting, it is with great enthusiasm that we introduce Ted MacKinnon as the new President of GANS.  

Ted works with Natural Resources Canada as the Senior Geomatics Technologist for the Survey General Branch's Atlantic Regional Office in Amherst. He has been working in the geomatics industry for over 18 years and has a diverse background in various disciplines including GIS, Cartography, LIDAR, Remote Sensing and GPS Surveying. He graduated from the Centre of Geographic Sciences (COGS) with advanced diplomas in both Remote Sensing and Applied Geomatics Research and with a B.Sc. in Geology from Acadia University. Ted has been accredited with GISP status from the GIS Certification Institute (GISCI) as well as Geomatics Specialist in Remote Sensing certification from the Canadian Institute of Geomatics (CIG) and is a fellow with the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.

In 2004 he created GISjobs.ca to help make it easier for the geospatial community to find jobs in the Canadian gematics sector and then shortly later started CanadianGIS.com; an online geospatial resource site that provides people with information on the Canadian geomatics sector. The success of the sites has been contributed to being well connected with the Canadian Geomatics community through social networking and various memberships with other professional organizations. Ted first became a member of GANS in 2004 after receiving the Geomatics Association of Nova Scotia Award at COGS. 

In his remarks at the AGM, Ted expressed that one of his goals this year will be to increase the engagement of the GANS membership at our professional and social events. 

Please drop a line to Ted and congratulate him and offer your support to him as he takes on this exciting new volunteer role on behalf of our community.     

To all GANS Members:

On Thursday, May 26th, I will be stepping down as your President of GANS, during the association's Annual General Meeting. It has been an incredibly exciting year for me, meeting and representing the interests of geomatics professionals and the geo-community from around Nova Scotia and beyond.

I am grateful for the efforts and energy provided by the GANS Board of Directors and members of the Working Groups during the past year, as well as the individual members who stepped up to assist when called upon. Together we have accomplshed much.  Thank you one and all.  I would also like to recognize and thank David Keefe, Executive Director of GANS, for his leadership in support of the association.

I look forward to staying involved with GANS, and in touch with the members, through my new position with GeoAlliance Canada. GANS is one of the founding members of GeoAlliance Canada, the organization I now represent as Executive Director (part-time) for Eastern Canada. http://geoalliance.ca/en/

If you are interested in learning more about participating in GANS, or GeoAlliance, please attend the AGM on Thursday at 1:00 pm at the Halifax Central Library on Spring Garden Road contact me. 

Thank you.

Hugh

Novellus Management Consulting