Using Earth Observation to Map, Measure & Monitor Peatlands

M3i has three key steps for converting source data – much of it conforming to the ‘big data’ characteristics of large volumes and a wide variety of sources and formats – into actionable intelligence about a Landscape of Interest (LoI): The first step involves building: creating and aggregating initial maps of the LoI, derived from whichever sources are available; collating, indexing and warehousing the data; and deploying the warehoused data in a form that is useable and valuable to clients (eg. assessing the impact of critical land classes on landscape investment decisions). The second step encompasses enrichment: enrichment of the mapped information through a range of methods, including ground surveying and data accumulation, crowdsourcing, and high-resolution remote sensing; and deployment of the enriched mappings in a form that is useable and valuable to clients (eg. interpolated peat depth estimates across a LoI). The thrid and final step comprises the analysis: analysis and monitoring of the LoI, using previous mappings enhanced by new datasets as they are released and collected; provision of additional services such as risk mapping and alerting (eg. soil erosion risk); and providing extracted information for loading into clients’ Business Information Systems (BIS).