Anthropogenic Footprints in Alberta's Energy Pilot Region

Polygon features map developed and mixed land-use footprints within Alberta's Play-Based Regulation pilot area from 2005 to 2013. The Alberta Energy Regulator created this GIS dataset using Landsat imagery to assess surface change from energy exploration. It covers townships from Twp. 52 to Twp. 70, including Edson, Fox Creek, Mayerthorpe, Whitecourt, Swan Hills, and Valleyview.

Use Cases

• Analyze trends in developed footprint classes over the 2005-2013 period to measure expansion of energy infrastructure.
• Use the polygon features as a baseline layer for planning and managing surface development to minimize facility counts.
• Monitor surface impacts by comparing the compiled anthropogenic footprints against future land-use/land-cover classifications.
• Assess regional surface change by overlaying the footprint shapefile with other geospatial data for the PBR pilot area.

Strengths

• Nine-year temporal coverage from 2005 to 2013 provides a multi-year baseline.
• Spatial coverage spans a defined pilot area across multiple townships and six Alberta towns.

Limitations

• Unknown row count and sample size for the polygon features limits assessment of statistical robustness.
• Data is temporally stale, ending in 2013, and may not reflect recent land-use changes.

Provenance

Source

Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), published by Alberta Geological Survey (AGS).

Collection Method

Created using earth observation (Landsat) imagery and land-use/land-cover classifications.

Time Range

2005 to 2013

Freshness

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Geography

Play-Based Regulation pilot area in Alberta, Canada, from Twp. 52, Rge. 7, W 5th Mer. to Twp. 70, Rge. 5, W 6th Mer.