ARTeMiS helps Hopkinson get a better look at our Earth

david.kirby — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 18:59:28 +0000

In the world of academic research, acronyms are pervasive, condensing the titles of everything from funding agencies to prestigious fellowships. But in the case of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge geography researcher Dr. Christopher Hopkinson, the acronym for his latest project is not only an easy-to-remember abbreviation, but also a symbol of the initiative’s ambitions.

Dr. Christopher Hopkinson is the Unversity's new Chair in Terrestrial Ecosystem Remote Sensing.

“I’m interested in enhancing our understanding of the environment and natural resources,” says Hopkinson.

With such an ecologically minded focus, it’s perhaps not surprising Hopkinson is using his research to pay homage to a Greek goddess best known for protecting the wilderness and natural world. The advanced-resolution terradynamic monitoring system (ARTeMiS for short) is a suite of hardware and software technologies that Hopkinson is integrating to improve simultaneous imaging of the Earth’s surface and what’s happening just beneath it.

A national leader in remote sensing technology and its applications, Hopkinson was named a Chair in Terrestrial Ecosystem Remote Sensing in 2013. He was one of three new Chairs who were added to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ last year as part of the Government of Alberta’s Campus Alberta Innovation Program Chairs plan (a fourth will be announced later in 2014).

Previously an adjunct professor at Acadia, Dalhousie and Wilfrid Laurier Universities, Hopkinson came to the U of L from his most recent post in Canberra, Australia. There, he spent a year as an environmental research scientist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, the country’s national research agency, combining ground-based, airborne and satellite lidar (remote sensing) data to estimate changes in forest biomass carbon stocks.

Today at the U of L, Hopkinson has received more than $233,000 in funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to develop ARTeMiS, an integrated system of field-based sensors that will support 3-D monitoring of seasonal and long-term environmental changes and vegetation processes.

The initiative also involves U of L professors Dr. Hester Jiskoot and Dr. Laura Chasmer. In addition, while three postdoctoral fellows will begin working alongside Hopkinson in the coming months, he envisions that undergraduate and graduate students will contribute to the research in the future, supporting such activities as system integration, field testing, data collection and environmental modeling.

ARTeMiS will map and quantify surface and sub-surface features and rates of change. “The landscape is complicated,” explains Hopkinson. “There are many environmental processes to observe at once – for example, freezing and thawing – and those changes are imperceptible right now because we can’t see below and above the ground surface at the same time.”

ARTeMiS, meanwhile, will enable concurrent 3D imaging of the surface and sub-surface. And the resulting data will eventually help researchers to better grasp the intricate connections among environmental changes, such as forest growth, snowpack evolution, wetland regeneration, and climate change, natural resource management, human disturbance and land reclamation in boreal, alpine, montane and floodplain ecosystems.

“Without this new technology, it will be very difficult to get a handle on these changes and just how important they are,” says Hopkinson.

Hopkinson the U of L's second CAIP Chair

trevor.kenney — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:29:09 +0000

Already recognized as a national leader in remote sensing technology and its applications, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has added to its research capacity with the addition of a new Chair in Terrestrial Ecosystem Remote Sensing, Dr. Chris Hopkinson.

Dr. Chris Hopkinson is the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's Chair in Terrestrial Ecosystem Remote Sensing.

Hopkinson is the second of four new research Chairs being added to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ this year as part of the Government of Alberta's Campus Alberta Innovation Program (CAIP) Chairs plan. The government is contributing $1-million per year over the course of seven years, for a total investment of $7 million.

"The opportunity to bring an international talent such as Dr. Hopkinson to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is outstanding," says Dr. Dan Weeks, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's vice-president (research). "A dedicated researcher and teacher with advanced capabilities in geomatics, water and forest resources, his expertise is an excellent complement to the work already being done on campus by the Alberta Terrestrial Imaging Centre (ATIC)."

Hopkinson comes to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ after spending the last year as an environmental research scientist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Canberra, Aus. His research program with the Australian Government is aimed at integrating ground-based, airborne and satellite LiDAR (remote sensing) data to estimate changes in forest biomass carbon stocks. He looks to expand ATIC's capacity in lidar research to address needs within Alberta's sustainable resources and environment department, while supporting the development of national industry standards.

"I first came to Canada as a graduate student with the specific intent to apply field and remote sensing methods to the study of glacial water resources in the Canadian Rockies. During this time, Alberta became my second home and I looked forward to my many field trips to the mountains and icefields," says Hopkinson. "After living and working in several locations since then, it almost feels like coming home to be back in Alberta; now able to set down roots in Lethbridge. It is, indeed, an honour to have the opportunity to work closely with prestigious colleagues and friends at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. As part of this team, I hope to assist in maintaining and growing the high profile of remote sensing research for which the Alberta Terrestrial Imaging Centre is known."

Prior to his work in Australia, Hopkinson was a research scientist with the Applied Geomatics Research Group, while also supervising graduate students and serving as an adjunct professor at Acadia ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, Dalhousie ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and Wilfrid Laurier ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. From 2002 to present, Hopkinson has been involved with 40 successful projects that have received more than $8 million in government or industrial funding. He earned his bachelor's degree in geography from Manchester ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Manchester, UK, and both his master's and PhD from Wilfrid Laurier ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Waterloo, Ont.

The CAIP Chairs plan is part of the Government of Alberta's Campus Alberta collaborative initiative and provides an initial 16 research Chairs to Alberta's four Comprehensive Academic and Research Intensive (CARI) institutions: the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, Athabasca ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary.

The U of L introduced Dr. Greg Pyle as its Chair in Aquatic Health earlier this year, and will also welcome CAIP Chairs in the areas of brain health and dementia, and synthetic biology later this year. Hopkinson's appointment at the U of L is funded for seven years.

"The program is designed to recruit new research leaders to Alberta in specific areas of study," says Weeks. "Not only do these areas align with the Government of Alberta's strategic priorities, but they also reflect the core strengths of our institution."

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ARTeMiS helps Hopkinson get a better look at our Earth

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