Anyone driving from the airport into town will see a number of satellite stations next to the Dempster Highway.

Quietly, that location is a small international hub of information, with satellite operations being performed by Canada, Germany, Sweden and France.

Next week, 30 scientists and ground station specialists from 30 countries will meet in Inuvik to discuss the Landsat program, run by the United States Geological Survey. It will be the 26th session of the Landsat Technical Working Group, which meets annually.

The program, which began in 1972, was borne out of NASA and the United StatesSA国际影视传媒� space program. Landsat has launched eight satellites, the most recent in 2013 and the next planned for 2020, to photograph the Earth and how it is changing.

The program has collected millions of images to help people map changes on the planetSA国际影视传媒檚 surface over time.
Each year, the Landsat group, who are the people operating reception stations for the data, meet to discuss issues regarding the collection of data, developments in technology, the health of their stations, what the data could be used for, how to archive it and more.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 an operational meeting,SA国际影视传媒� explained Corrina Vester, manager of stakeholder relations for the Canadian Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation.
The information is used for any number of purposes.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 really used to monitor the planet, so it can detect and measure the changes in land cover and land use,SA国际影视传媒� said Vester. SA国际影视传媒淔or instance, as land moves from being primarily agricultural to a city, it can measure that.SA国际影视传媒�

It can detect the extent of burning after forest fires, environmental changes, desertification and much more, all pixel-by-pixel and mapped over long periods of time.

Inuvik makes an ideal satellite location because of its proximity to the North Pole. Vester gave a metaphor of winding wool around a ball, explaining that the northern and southern poles of the ball offer more occasions to capture the satellite signal.

SA国际影视传媒淵ou have a higher frequency of downloads in far northern or far southern locations,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚nuvik is in a perfect location.SA国际影视传媒�

The Mackenzie Valley Fibre Link means large data loads can be sent into the global network.

Vester sees the satellite operations in Inuvik as a growing industry. SA国际影视传媒淥ur forecasts say yes,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

The conference will take place June 5 to 9 and include a technology workshop for students in Aurora CollegeSA国际影视传媒檚 Environment and Natural Resources Technology Program.