Below I share some of the work going on in the geo-spatial world at the Hakai Institute. Some of the posts are for testing products for future development and some are to highlight early findings from the field. The main goal of the mapping team is to assist and enhance spatial knowledge for long term research programs at the Hakai Institute.
If you are looking for some of our finished mapping products or data click here.
If you have any questions please contact me at keith.holmes@hakai.org.
Koeye River - September 5th - UAV Imagery
Sunday, September 6, 2015 at 10:44AM The map below displays a 237 image mosaic of the lower reach of the Koeye River on the Central Coast of British Columbia. Images were captured with a UAV in a brief break in the weather. The lower estuary is currently being processed and will line up well with our ecosystem mapping colleagues.
McMullin Islands - September 4th, 2015
Friday, September 4, 2015 at 8:39PM McMullin Islands - Central Coast of British Columbia.
One Flight - 204 Images - 2 km x 1 km Coverage - 1.4 Meter Tide. 
Drone Mapping - A Sample of Things to Come.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015 at 5:29PM
Drone Mapping from Hakai on Vimeo.
UAV Captured Mosaic - West Beach - Calvert Island
Monday, August 24, 2015 at 12:16PM 
59 images have been stitched together to create a complete view of the kelp bed on West Beach, Calvert Island, BC. Imagery was captured August 10th using a Phantom 3 Professional UAV. Image acquisition took a single 15 minute flight and covered an area 1Km x 1.2Km. Image processing took roughly two hours.
Choked Passage Eelgrass Bed Mosaic
Monday, August 3, 2015 at 2:12PM The following image is a look at the massive eelgrass bed in Choked Passage, Calvert Island. All the images were taken using a Phantom 2+ on July 31st, 2015 with a tide of 1.9 feet. 51 images have been cropped, enhanced, and stitched together to provide an exceptionally detailed view with a spatial resolution of roughly 8 cm.
Calvert Island Kelp Extent 2015
Sunday, August 2, 2015 at 3:54PM Preliminary results from the UAV air photos show a considerable decrease in kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) this year compared with the 2014 season. The system is following a common trend observed along the coast of BC as marine habitats adjust to the increased presence of sea otters. The maps below represent the general trend observed around Calvert Island with an estimated 60% spatial extent and density of kelp compared with 2014. The 2014 kelp season showed a massive explosion of kelp extent and we expect the system to normalize over the next few years as understory marine habitats re-establish.
Drones and Imagery around Calvert Island
Friday, July 31, 2015 at 5:00PM We have recently been capturing imagery during the peak of marine habitat growth for the year. The imagery will be used to map eelgrass and kelp bed extents around Choked Passage and West Beach on the north west side of Calvert Island, BC. Hakai has purchased drones / UAVs to acomplish our mission and the imagery we aquire assists a number of Hakai researchers to understand the rapid shifts in habitat being observed. Below is an image of Choked Passage and part of its massive eelgrass bed. Image taken July 31st, 2015.
Hakai Drone Team
Tuesday, July 21, 2015 at 11:40PM Hakai is about to have a lot more spatial science power with the addition of drones to the fleet. Today the UAV team was testing them out in Victoria.
Testing Hakai Facilities Orientation Map
Wednesday, July 15, 2015 at 4:07PM