Land Disturbance Classification for Cold Lake Oil Sands Area 2007-2008

Alberta's Cold Lake oil sands region contains land disturbance data derived from 2007 and 2008 Landsat imagery. The Government of Alberta produced this dataset, classifying vegetation loss into 9 distinct categories. It serves as baseline information for monitoring cumulative environmental impacts of industrial activity.

Use Cases

• Classify pixels into 9 land disturbance categories (e.g., 'exposed land/cut blocks', 'transitional bare surfaces', 'developed areas') using Landsat multispectral imagery.
• Map vegetation loss from anthropogenic disturbances like oil and gas infrastructure, forestry, and agriculture across the specified township and range grid.
• Establish a 2007-2008 baseline for time-series analysis of vegetation recovery following industrial activity in the region.
• Analyze spatial patterns of land cover change, such as the distribution of 'shrub land' versus 'grassland' versus 'agricultural areas' post-disturbance.

Strengths

• Data is derived from Landsat satellite imagery, a consistent and widely-used source for land cover analysis.
• Classification includes 9 specific land disturbance and cover categories, providing detailed thematic resolution.
• Covers a defined geographic area (Townships 56-69, Ranges 1-11 W4) relevant to regional planning.

Limitations

• Dataset is temporally limited to a two-year snapshot (2007-2008), preventing analysis of longer-term trends.
• Specific row/column counts, spatial resolution, and accuracy metrics for the classification are not provided.
• The classification scheme is specific to anthropogenic disturbances in this region, limiting direct comparability with other land cover products.

Provenance

Source

Government of Alberta

Collection Method

Derived from Landsat multispectral imagery for 2007 and 2008, combined with 2008 land use and land cover classification data.

Time Range

2007 to 2008

Freshness

Dataset metadata was updated in March 2026, but the underlying imagery and classification are from 2007-2008.

Geography

Cold Lake oil sands area, Alberta, Canada (Townships 56 to 69, Ranges 1 to 11, west of the 4th Meridian).