Annual Land Disturbance Classification Derived from Landsat Imagery

2010-2011 Landsat multispectral imagery was used to classify land disturbance across a pilot regulatory area in Alberta. The Alberta Energy Regulator produced this dataset to assess surface change from energy exploration and other anthropogenic activities. It contains vegetation loss data classified into 9 categories, including exposed land, developed areas, and agricultural zones.

Use Cases

• Mapping vegetation loss from oil and gas infrastructure using the 'exposed land/cut blocks' and 'developed areas' classes.
• Monitoring land cover change over time by comparing the 2010 and 2011 classification layers for categories like 'grassland' and 'shrub land'.
• Assessing the spatial footprint of anthropogenic disturbance by analyzing the distribution of the 9 land use classes across the pilot area.
• Providing baseline data for surface impact models by utilizing the classified 'transitional bare surfaces' and 'mixed developed areas' features.

Strengths

• Data covers a defined geographic area spanning 18 townships in Alberta.
• Classification schema provides 9 distinct land use and land cover categories.

Limitations

• Dataset is temporally limited to a two-year period (2010-2011).
• Specific sample size (row/column count) and spatial resolution are not provided.
• Focus is exclusively on a single pilot study area in Alberta, limiting generalizability.

Provenance

Source

Government of Alberta

Collection Method

Derived from Landsat multispectral imagery and land use classification data.

Time Range

2010-2011

Freshness

null

Geography

Alberta, Canada, from Twp. 52, Rge. 7, W 5th Mer. to Twp. 70, Rge. 5, W 6th Mer., covering towns including Edson, Fox Creek, Whitecourt.