#greennessofcalgary — Public Fediverse posts

Honored to share that my spatial analytics research has been featured as an official Success Story on The City of Calgary’s Open Data Portal.

The feature highlights how open municipal datasets can be combined with remote sensing data to evaluate urban heat islands, land cover composition, and microclimate dynamics across Calgary neighbourhoods.

Key aspects of the project:
🔹 Processing multi-spectral satellite imagery to model surface temperature (LST) and vegetation dynamics.
🔹 Translating complex spatial data into accessible, decision-ready insights for climate resilience and urban planning.
🔹 Demonstrating the practical impact of open data in civic-focused research.

A sincere thank you to The City of Calgary Open Data team for recognizing this work and highlighting the value of turning raw open data into actionable insights.

Read the full story here: https://www.calgary.ca/research/open-data/articles/where-data-meets-sustainability.html

#GIS #SpatialData #RemoteSensing #OpenData #Calgary #ClimateResilience #DataScience #UrbanPlanning #GreennessOfCalgary

Honored to share that my spatial analytics research has been featured as an official Success Story on The City of Calgary’s Open Data Portal.

The feature highlights how open municipal datasets can be combined with remote sensing data to evaluate urban heat islands, land cover composition, and microclimate dynamics across Calgary neighbourhoods.

Key aspects of the project:
🔹 Processing multi-spectral satellite imagery to model surface temperature (LST) and vegetation dynamics.
🔹 Translating complex spatial data into accessible, decision-ready insights for climate resilience and urban planning.
🔹 Demonstrating the practical impact of open data in civic-focused research.

A sincere thank you to The City of Calgary Open Data team for recognizing this work and highlighting the value of turning raw open data into actionable insights.

Read the full story here: https://www.calgary.ca/research/open-data/articles/where-data-meets-sustainability.html

#GIS #SpatialData #RemoteSensing #OpenData #Calgary #ClimateResilience #DataScience #UrbanPlanning #GreennessOfCalgary

How does physical vegetation compare to administrative park maps?

In a new article by LiveWire Calgary, I shared technical insights from my 10-meter machine learning land cover classification model.

🛰️ Satellites map physical ground reality, not property boundaries. Multispectral land cover data reveals continuous fine fuel pathways (grass, brush, and canopy) extending across unmanaged ravines and private lots right up to residential property lines at Calgary's Wildland-Urban Interface.

🔗 Read the full article: https://livewirecalgary.com/2026/08/06/calgary-wildfire-campaign-high-risk-areas-map-gaps/

#GIS #RemoteSensing #EarthObservation #Calgary #SpatialDataScience #LandCover #WUI #MachineLearning #Geoscience #GreennessOfCalgary #LiveWireCalgary

📈 Imperviousness vs. Temperature: Calgary's Primary Thermodynamic Trend

Mapping 313 Calgary communities reveals a linear relationship between % impervious surface area (Random Forest model on Summer 2025 Sentinel-1/2 & Landsat 8/9) and Land Surface Temperature (LST).

📊 Key Data Points:
• Cool Pole (<28°C, 0–15% impervious): Glenmore Park, Fish Creek (water & mature canopy).
• Hot Pole (37–40°C, 85–95% impervious): Industrial (Franklin, Foothills) & residential (Marlborough, Rundle).
• Thermal Slope: Every +10% impervious cover adds +1.2°C to +1.5°C to LST.

🔬 Variance Drivers:
Material albedo, building geometry (shading), topography, and canopy vs. lawn structure.

💡 Takeaway:
Impervious cover is the dominant microclimate driver. Urban planning—road width, building footprint, and canopy retention—is direct thermodynamic engineering.

#Calgary #YYC #GIS #RemoteSensing #RStats #DataScience #UrbanHeat #CityPlanning #Microclimate #GreennessOfCalgary

📈 Imperviousness vs. Temperature: Calgary's Primary Thermodynamic Trend

Mapping 313 Calgary communities reveals a linear relationship between % impervious surface area (Random Forest model on Summer 2025 Sentinel-1/2 & Landsat 8/9) and Land Surface Temperature (LST).

📊 Key Data Points:
• Cool Pole (<28°C, 0–15% impervious): Glenmore Park, Fish Creek (water & mature canopy).
• Hot Pole (37–40°C, 85–95% impervious): Industrial (Franklin, Foothills) & residential (Marlborough, Rundle).
• Thermal Slope: Every +10% impervious cover adds +1.2°C to +1.5°C to LST.

🔬 Variance Drivers:
Material albedo, building geometry (shading), topography, and canopy vs. lawn structure.

💡 Takeaway:
Impervious cover is the dominant microclimate driver. Urban planning—road width, building footprint, and canopy retention—is direct thermodynamic engineering.

#Calgary #YYC #GIS #RemoteSensing #RStats #DataScience #UrbanHeat #CityPlanning #Microclimate #GreennessOfCalgary

Does urban greenery yield microclimatic cooling? Spatial analysis of Calgary (Summer 2025) shows a non-linear NDVI vs LST response.

🛠 Stack: Google Earth Engine (Landsat 8/9, Sentinel-2) + R (terra, tidyverse).

📊 Key Findings:
🔹 Cooling Deficit (NDVI < 0.34): LST stays trapped at 35–36°C. Heat stress overrides evapotranspiration; saplings & isolated lawns fail to cool.
🔹 Tipping Point (NDVI > 0.34): Cooling begins above 0.34. Dense canopy (NDVI > 0.70) suppresses LST below 28–30°C (6–8°C delta).

💡 Takeaway: Urban forestry can't just count saplings. Without threshold canopy density, isolated greenery is decoration, not climate infrastructure.

🔗 Link to the research:
https://www.datastory.org.ua/calgarys-summer-heat-a-2025-satellite-perspective/

#RemoteSensing #GIS #RStats #rspatial #terra #tidyverse #GoogleEarthEngine #UrbanForestry #Calgary #YYC #OpenData #GreennessOfCalgary #FOSSGIS #Landsat #Sentinel2

Does urban greenery yield microclimatic cooling? Spatial analysis of Calgary (Summer 2025) shows a non-linear NDVI vs LST response.

🛠 Stack: Google Earth Engine (Landsat 8/9, Sentinel-2) + R (terra, tidyverse).

📊 Key Findings:
🔹 Cooling Deficit (NDVI < 0.34): LST stays trapped at 35–36°C. Heat stress overrides evapotranspiration; saplings & isolated lawns fail to cool.
🔹 Tipping Point (NDVI > 0.34): Cooling begins above 0.34. Dense canopy (NDVI > 0.70) suppresses LST below 28–30°C (6–8°C delta).

💡 Takeaway: Urban forestry can't just count saplings. Without threshold canopy density, isolated greenery is decoration, not climate infrastructure.

🔗 Link to the research:
https://www.datastory.org.ua/calgarys-summer-heat-a-2025-satellite-perspective/

#RemoteSensing #GIS #RStats #rspatial #terra #tidyverse #GoogleEarthEngine #UrbanForestry #Calgary #YYC #OpenData #GreennessOfCalgary #FOSSGIS #Landsat #Sentinel2

📉 Comparing the Solid-to-Tree Ratio with the Land Surface Temperature (LST) data obtained in the previous phase of the study allows for a visual assessment of the relationship between surface sealing and summer surface heating across Calgary’s residential communities.
🔥 The plot reveals a strong pattern for the vast majority of communities: a sharp increase in temperature occurs within the ratio range of 0 to 5. The Downtown Commercial Core stands out as a distinct outlier, where low LST values are driven by deep geometric shading from high-rise buildings. Additionally, neighborhoods such as Manchester, Seton, Redstone, Beltline, and Rangeview, among a few others, slightly diverge from the main trend.
📊 Full methodology and additional charts via the link:👇
https://www.datastory.org.ua/calgarys-microclimatic-anatomy-what-lies-beneath-the-citys-green-appearance/

#Calgary #OpenData #UrbanHeat #DataScience #ClimateResilience #YYC #Geoscience #CityPlanning #RemoteSensing #RStats #MachineLearning #GreennessOfCalgary

📉 Comparing the Solid-to-Tree Ratio with the Land Surface Temperature (LST) data obtained in the previous phase of the study allows for a visual assessment of the relationship between surface sealing and summer surface heating across Calgary’s residential communities.
🔥 The plot reveals a strong pattern for the vast majority of communities: a sharp increase in temperature occurs within the ratio range of 0 to 5. The Downtown Commercial Core stands out as a distinct outlier, where low LST values are driven by deep geometric shading from high-rise buildings. Additionally, neighborhoods such as Manchester, Seton, Redstone, Beltline, and Rangeview, among a few others, slightly diverge from the main trend.
📊 Full methodology and additional charts via the link:👇
https://www.datastory.org.ua/calgarys-microclimatic-anatomy-what-lies-beneath-the-citys-green-appearance/

#Calgary #OpenData #UrbanHeat #DataScience #ClimateResilience #YYC #Geoscience #CityPlanning #RemoteSensing #RStats #MachineLearning #GreennessOfCalgary

Which Calgary neighborhoods are best built to withstand summer heatwaves? 🌳☀️

To measure structural climate resilience across the city, I conducted a spatial analysis of 193 established residential communities, calculating the Solid-to-Tree Ratio—comparing bare artificial surfaces (asphalt, concrete, rooftops) directly against total tree canopy area.

Here are the Top 10 most shade-rich and climate-resilient communities in Calgary:
🟢 Queens Park Village — 0.3 (Just 0.3 ha of hard surface for every 1 ha of canopy!)
🟢 Discovery Ridge — 0.5
🟢 Roxboro — 0.5
🟢 Wildwood — 0.6
🟢 Rideau Park — 0.7
🟢 Medicine Hill — 0.8
🟢 Upper Mount Royal — 0.8
🟢 Crestmont — 0.9
🟢 Elbow Park — 0.9
🟢 Shaganappi — 0.9

👇 The full interactive dataset and study are here:
https://www.datastory.org.ua/calgarys-microclimatic-anatomy-what-lies-beneath-the-citys-green-appearance/

#UrbanAnalytics #GeospatialData #RemoteSensing #GIS #UrbanForestry #CityPlanning #Calgary #DataScience #Microclimate #MachineLearning #GreennessOfCalgary #RStats #FOSSGIS

Which Calgary neighborhoods are best built to withstand summer heatwaves? 🌳☀️

To measure structural climate resilience across the city, I conducted a spatial analysis of 193 established residential communities, calculating the Solid-to-Tree Ratio—comparing bare artificial surfaces (asphalt, concrete, rooftops) directly against total tree canopy area.

Here are the Top 10 most shade-rich and climate-resilient communities in Calgary:
🟢 Queens Park Village — 0.3 (Just 0.3 ha of hard surface for every 1 ha of canopy!)
🟢 Discovery Ridge — 0.5
🟢 Roxboro — 0.5
🟢 Wildwood — 0.6
🟢 Rideau Park — 0.7
🟢 Medicine Hill — 0.8
🟢 Upper Mount Royal — 0.8
🟢 Crestmont — 0.9
🟢 Elbow Park — 0.9
🟢 Shaganappi — 0.9

👇 The full interactive dataset and study are here:
https://www.datastory.org.ua/calgarys-microclimatic-anatomy-what-lies-beneath-the-citys-green-appearance/

#UrbanAnalytics #GeospatialData #RemoteSensing #GIS #UrbanForestry #CityPlanning #Calgary #DataScience #Microclimate #MachineLearning #GreennessOfCalgary #RStats #FOSSGIS

🔥 Top 10 Calgary Communities with the Highest "Shade Deficit"

To measure structural heat risks, I calculated the Solid-to-Tree Ratio—the ratio of bare artificial surfaces (asphalt, concrete, roofs) to total tree canopy area. A higher ratio means more heat-retaining concrete and less natural cooling.

Here are the 10 most shade-deficient residential communities in Calgary:
🔹 Downtown Commercial Core — 56.2 (56.2 ha of hard surfaces for every 1 ha of trees)
🔹 Beltline — 24.6
🔹 Redstone — 23.8
🔹 Seton — 20.8
🔹 Manchester — 17.7
🔹 Rangeview — 16.8
🔹 Symons Valley Ranch — 16.0
🔹 Lower Mount Royal — 13.9
🔹 Country Hills Village — 13.2
🔹 Martindale — 12.4

An interactive lookup table featuring area metrics and ratios for all 193 established Calgary residential communities is available via the link:
https://www.datastory.org.ua/calgarys-microclimatic-anatomy-what-lies-beneath-the-citys-green-appearance/

#YYC #Calgary #CalgaryRealEstate #UrbanForestry #CityPlanning #RemoteSensing #YycLiving #GreennessOfCalgary #MachineLearning #RStats #Alberta #Canada

🔥 Top 10 Calgary Communities with the Highest "Shade Deficit"

To measure structural heat risks, I calculated the Solid-to-Tree Ratio—the ratio of bare artificial surfaces (asphalt, concrete, roofs) to total tree canopy area. A higher ratio means more heat-retaining concrete and less natural cooling.

Here are the 10 most shade-deficient residential communities in Calgary:
🔹 Downtown Commercial Core — 56.2 (56.2 ha of hard surfaces for every 1 ha of trees)
🔹 Beltline — 24.6
🔹 Redstone — 23.8
🔹 Seton — 20.8
🔹 Manchester — 17.7
🔹 Rangeview — 16.8
🔹 Symons Valley Ranch — 16.0
🔹 Lower Mount Royal — 13.9
🔹 Country Hills Village — 13.2
🔹 Martindale — 12.4

An interactive lookup table featuring area metrics and ratios for all 193 established Calgary residential communities is available via the link:
https://www.datastory.org.ua/calgarys-microclimatic-anatomy-what-lies-beneath-the-citys-green-appearance/

#YYC #Calgary #CalgaryRealEstate #UrbanForestry #CityPlanning #RemoteSensing #YycLiving #GreennessOfCalgary #MachineLearning #RStats #Alberta #Canada

🌳 Is Calgary actually as green as it looks?

While open lawns (28.6% citywide) give Calgary a visual "green appearance", dry summer conditions quickly strip unirrigated grass of its cooling capacity. Meanwhile, true cooling infrastructure — dense and sparse tree canopy — accounts for only ~17%.

To quantify structural heat risks, I introduced the Solid-to-Tree Ratio index across 193 residential communities:
🔹 Critical Deficit: Downtown Core (56.2) and Beltline (24.6), where hard surfaces outnumber tree canopy by tens of times.
🔹 Suburban Pressure: New communities like Redstone (23.8) and Seton (20.8) feature high-density lots with minimal mature shade.
🔹 Ecological Buffers: River valley communities like Discovery Ridge (0.5) and Wildwood (0.6), where canopy exceeds concrete.

👇 Link to the full study and interactive dataset:
https://www.datastory.org.ua/calgarys-microclimatic-anatomy-what-lies-beneath-the-citys-green-appearance/

#Calgary #YYC #DataScience #GIS #RStats #RemoteSensing #UrbanHeat #DataViz #SpatialAnalysis #MachineLearning #GreennessOfCalgary #FOSSGIS #Alberta #Canada

🌳 Is Calgary actually as green as it looks?

While open lawns (28.6% citywide) give Calgary a visual "green appearance", dry summer conditions quickly strip unirrigated grass of its cooling capacity. Meanwhile, true cooling infrastructure — dense and sparse tree canopy — accounts for only ~17%.

To quantify structural heat risks, I introduced the Solid-to-Tree Ratio index across 193 residential communities:
🔹 Critical Deficit: Downtown Core (56.2) and Beltline (24.6), where hard surfaces outnumber tree canopy by tens of times.
🔹 Suburban Pressure: New communities like Redstone (23.8) and Seton (20.8) feature high-density lots with minimal mature shade.
🔹 Ecological Buffers: River valley communities like Discovery Ridge (0.5) and Wildwood (0.6), where canopy exceeds concrete.

👇 Link to the full study and interactive dataset:
https://www.datastory.org.ua/calgarys-microclimatic-anatomy-what-lies-beneath-the-citys-green-appearance/

#Calgary #YYC #DataScience #GIS #RStats #RemoteSensing #UrbanHeat #DataViz #SpatialAnalysis #MachineLearning #GreennessOfCalgary #FOSSGIS #Alberta #Canada

🌳 Quantifying Calgary’s Microclimatic Imbalance: The Solid-to-Tree Ratio

To evaluate the structural heat load across Calgary's communities, I calculated the ratio of high-thermal artificial surfaces to cooling tree canopy: Solid / (Park + Forest), based on my 2025 satellite land cover model (LULC v6.0).

Why this ratio matters:
🔹 Thermal Stress Indicator: It measures how many square meters of heat-absorbing surfaces (asphalt, concrete, roofs, bare soil) exist for every square meter of tree canopy.
🔹 Spatial Inequality: While mature western neighborhoods maintain ratios between 1.5 and 4, eastern and peripheral zones reach values from 10 to over 50.
🔹 Evidence-Based Planning: It moves the discussion from generic averages to identifying exact spatial boundaries where microclimatic mitigation is most needed.

Note: The map uses a logarithmic scale.

#Calgary #YYC #DataScience #GIS #RStats #RemoteSensing #UrbanHeat #DataViz #SpatialAnalysis #MachineLearning #GreennessOfCalgary #FOSSGIS #Sentinel1 #Sentinel2

🌳 Quantifying Calgary’s Microclimatic Imbalance: The Solid-to-Tree Ratio

To evaluate the structural heat load across Calgary's communities, I calculated the ratio of high-thermal artificial surfaces to cooling tree canopy: Solid / (Park + Forest), based on my 2025 satellite land cover model (LULC v6.0).

Why this ratio matters:
🔹 Thermal Stress Indicator: It measures how many square meters of heat-absorbing surfaces (asphalt, concrete, roofs, bare soil) exist for every square meter of tree canopy.
🔹 Spatial Inequality: While mature western neighborhoods maintain ratios between 1.5 and 4, eastern and peripheral zones reach values from 10 to over 50.
🔹 Evidence-Based Planning: It moves the discussion from generic averages to identifying exact spatial boundaries where microclimatic mitigation is most needed.

Note: The map uses a logarithmic scale.

#Calgary #YYC #DataScience #GIS #RStats #RemoteSensing #UrbanHeat #DataViz #SpatialAnalysis #MachineLearning #GreennessOfCalgary #FOSSGIS #Sentinel1 #Sentinel2

📊 Beyond Averages: Spatial Heterogeneity in Calgary (LULC v6.0)

Averages mask reality. To capture ecological stratification across Calgary's residential communities (excl. major parks/building-out and industrial zones), I combined Violin + Box Plots:
🔹 Solid (Impervious): Median ~67% (IQR 55–74%). High-thermal non-vegetated surfaces are a systemic structural feature across nearly all neighborhoods.
🔹 Park vs. Lawn (Canopy vs. Turf): Park median (~20%) doubles Lawn (~10%). A long upper tail (>50%) highlights spatial inequality in tree cover.
🔹 Forest & Water: Near 0% for 95% of communities, but sharp needles (up to 25% forest, 16% water) mark outliers with lakes or remnant woods.
💡 Takeaway: Calgary isn't homogenous—microclimatic comfort heavily depends on geographic boundaries.

Full analysis coming soon: https://www.datastory.org.ua/

#Calgary #YYC #DataScience #GIS #RStats #RemoteSensing #UrbanHeat #DataViz #SpatialAnalysis #MachineLearning #GreennessOfCalgary #FOSSGIS #OpenData #OpenSource #TreeEquity

📊 Beyond Averages: Spatial Heterogeneity in Calgary (LULC v6.0)

Averages mask reality. To capture ecological stratification across Calgary's residential communities (excl. major parks/building-out and industrial zones), I combined Violin + Box Plots:
🔹 Solid (Impervious): Median ~67% (IQR 55–74%). High-thermal non-vegetated surfaces are a systemic structural feature across nearly all neighborhoods.
🔹 Park vs. Lawn (Canopy vs. Turf): Park median (~20%) doubles Lawn (~10%). A long upper tail (>50%) highlights spatial inequality in tree cover.
🔹 Forest & Water: Near 0% for 95% of communities, but sharp needles (up to 25% forest, 16% water) mark outliers with lakes or remnant woods.
💡 Takeaway: Calgary isn't homogenous—microclimatic comfort heavily depends on geographic boundaries.

Full analysis coming soon: https://www.datastory.org.ua/

#Calgary #YYC #DataScience #GIS #RStats #RemoteSensing #UrbanHeat #DataViz #SpatialAnalysis #MachineLearning #GreennessOfCalgary #FOSSGIS #OpenData #OpenSource #TreeEquity

🔥 It looks like it's time to lock in the current version of the machine learning model (LULC v.6.0). Validation results on an independent test dataset (Confusion Matrix) demonstrate the excellent predictive power of the algorithm:
🔹 Overall Accuracy: 98.29% (95% CI: 98.16% – 98.41%) with a No Information Rate = 60.28% (p-value < 2.2e-16).
🔹 Cohen’s Kappa: 0.9691, confirming high classification reliability even with severe class imbalance.
The model shows a very low error rate for non-vegetated areas (Solid, Balanced Accuracy 99.72%) and water bodies (Water, 99.75%), but expectedly faces challenges at the boundaries between the Lawn (open grass) and Park (sparse trees) classes.
Currently, I am moving on to an advanced analysis of the drivers shaping Urban Heat Islands (UHI) in Calgary and preparing a publication for my website. Stay tuned for updates!
#Calgary #OpenData #UrbanHeat #DataScience #ClimateResilience #YYC #Geoscience #CityPlanning #RemoteSensing #RStats #MachineLearning #GreennessOfCalgary

🔥 It looks like it's time to lock in the current version of the machine learning model (LULC v.6.0). Validation results on an independent test dataset (Confusion Matrix) demonstrate the excellent predictive power of the algorithm:
🔹 Overall Accuracy: 98.29% (95% CI: 98.16% – 98.41%) with a No Information Rate = 60.28% (p-value < 2.2e-16).
🔹 Cohen’s Kappa: 0.9691, confirming high classification reliability even with severe class imbalance.
The model shows a very low error rate for non-vegetated areas (Solid, Balanced Accuracy 99.72%) and water bodies (Water, 99.75%), but expectedly faces challenges at the boundaries between the Lawn (open grass) and Park (sparse trees) classes.
Currently, I am moving on to an advanced analysis of the drivers shaping Urban Heat Islands (UHI) in Calgary and preparing a publication for my website. Stay tuned for updates!
#Calgary #OpenData #UrbanHeat #DataScience #ClimateResilience #YYC #Geoscience #CityPlanning #RemoteSensing #RStats #MachineLearning #GreennessOfCalgary

🏡 Here is the data analysis for Calgary, Summer 2025. This chart shows the relationship between vegetation density (NDVI) and Land Surface Temperature (LST).

🔥 The data reveals a critical "tipping point": vegetation only starts effectively cooling the environment once it reaches a specific density threshold. Below this threshold (the left side of the curve), green spaces stay just as hot as the surrounding concrete.
Sparse or isolated trees don't act as air conditioners—they "burn" in the urban furnace right along with us.

❗ What does this mean for Calgary? Simply planting a few scattered trees isn't enough. To actually move the needle on temperature, we need dense, healthy green belts. Otherwise, it’s just a waste of water and resources.

🔗 Link to the research: https://www.datastory.org.ua/calgarys-summer-heat-a-2025-satellite-perspective/

#Calgary #UrbanHeatIsland #NDVI #ClimateChange #UrbanPlanning #DataScience #Environment #YYC #BigData #ScienceMatters #GreennessOfCalgary #ClimateOfCalgary #rstats #RemoteSensing #OpenScience

🏡 Here is the data analysis for Calgary, Summer 2025. This chart shows the relationship between vegetation density (NDVI) and Land Surface Temperature (LST).

🔥 The data reveals a critical "tipping point": vegetation only starts effectively cooling the environment once it reaches a specific density threshold. Below this threshold (the left side of the curve), green spaces stay just as hot as the surrounding concrete.
Sparse or isolated trees don't act as air conditioners—they "burn" in the urban furnace right along with us.

❗ What does this mean for Calgary? Simply planting a few scattered trees isn't enough. To actually move the needle on temperature, we need dense, healthy green belts. Otherwise, it’s just a waste of water and resources.

🔗 Link to the research: https://www.datastory.org.ua/calgarys-summer-heat-a-2025-satellite-perspective/

#Calgary #UrbanHeatIsland #NDVI #ClimateChange #UrbanPlanning #DataScience #Environment #YYC #BigData #ScienceMatters #GreennessOfCalgary #ClimateOfCalgary #rstats #RemoteSensing #OpenScience

Giving back to Calgary: an article was published today about my satellite research of the city!

It is important to me to use my knowledge as a geoscientist and environmental data scientist to help make our new home better and greener. Thanks to LiveWire Calgary for the interest in this topic!

https://livewirecalgary.com/2026/03/17/new-satellite-study-shows-calgarys-uneven-urban-greenery/

#DataScience #EnvironmentalScience #RemoteSensing #Calgary #PublicEngagement #GIS #Sustainability #RStats #MDEM #yycPlanning #UrbanPlanning #ClimateResilience #NatureBasedSolutions #UrbanEcology #GreenInfrastructure #SmartCities #CalgaryUrbanism #GreennessOfCalgary

Giving back to Calgary: an article was published today about my satellite research of the city!

It is important to me to use my knowledge as a geoscientist and environmental data scientist to help make our new home better and greener. Thanks to LiveWire Calgary for the interest in this topic!

https://livewirecalgary.com/2026/03/17/new-satellite-study-shows-calgarys-uneven-urban-greenery/

#DataScience #EnvironmentalScience #RemoteSensing #Calgary #PublicEngagement #GIS #Sustainability #RStats #MDEM #yycPlanning #UrbanPlanning #ClimateResilience #NatureBasedSolutions #UrbanEcology #GreenInfrastructure #SmartCities #CalgaryUrbanism #GreennessOfCalgary

One more quick byproduct of my MDEM development: a bivariate map integrating volumetric structural data (SAR) with surface temperature (LST). This approach identifies the exceptionally intensive dissipative role of volumetric vegetation structure (trees and tall shrubs). By accounting for these high-performance cooling elements, we can better understand how they supplement traditional landscaping to enhance the city's overall thermal resilience.

#UrbanHeatIsland #EnvironmentalScience #DataScience #Calgary #YYC #Sustainability #RemoteSensing #GIS #MDEM #GreennessOfCalgary #CalgaryMDEM #RStats #UrbanPlanning #EarthObservation #OpenScience #SpatialDataScience #SpatialData

One more quick byproduct of my MDEM development: a bivariate map integrating volumetric structural data (SAR) with surface temperature (LST). This approach identifies the exceptionally intensive dissipative role of volumetric vegetation structure (trees and tall shrubs). By accounting for these high-performance cooling elements, we can better understand how they supplement traditional landscaping to enhance the city's overall thermal resilience.

#UrbanHeatIsland #EnvironmentalScience #DataScience #Calgary #YYC #Sustainability #RemoteSensing #GIS #MDEM #GreennessOfCalgary #CalgaryMDEM #RStats #UrbanPlanning #EarthObservation #OpenScience #SpatialDataScience #SpatialData

🛰️ 242 Million Pixels: Calgary’s Urban Heat Pulse

To model Calgary’s #UHI with precision, I processed 242,376,352 pixels from Sentinel-2 & Landsat 8/9 (Summer 2025).

Using multi-temporal composites in #RStats on #Debian, I’ve revealed the persistent link between greenery & heat. Data shows that NDVI > 0.35 triggers a sharp drop in surface temp.

This is a foundational layer for my Multi-Dimensional Environmental Matrix (#MDEM) framework for #UrbanHealth.

#Calgary #GIS #RemoteSensing #Sustainability #yyc #ClimateResilience #GreennessOfCalgary

🛰️ 242 Million Pixels: Calgary’s Urban Heat Pulse

To model Calgary’s #UHI with precision, I processed 242,376,352 pixels from Sentinel-2 & Landsat 8/9 (Summer 2025).

Using multi-temporal composites in #RStats on #Debian, I’ve revealed the persistent link between greenery & heat. Data shows that NDVI > 0.35 triggers a sharp drop in surface temp.

This is a foundational layer for my Multi-Dimensional Environmental Matrix (#MDEM) framework for #UrbanHealth.

#Calgary #GIS #RemoteSensing #Sustainability #yyc #ClimateResilience #GreennessOfCalgary

Just a byproduct of my current research... 😉
Investigating the environmental patterns of Calgary. Sometimes the most telling insights emerge while working on something even bigger.

UPD: The total raw dataset consists of 242,376,352 individual pixels!

#UrbanHeatIsland #EnvironmentalScience #DataScience #Calgary #Sustainability #RemoteSensing #GIS #MDEM #GreennessOfCalgary #CalgaryMDEM #RStats

Just a byproduct of my current research... 😉
Investigating the environmental patterns of Calgary. Sometimes the most telling insights emerge while working on something even bigger.

#UrbanHeatIsland #EnvironmentalScience #DataScience #Calgary #Sustainability #RemoteSensing #GIS #MDEM #GreennessOfCalgary #CalgaryMDEM #RStats

🔥 Mapping the Urban Thermal Environment: Summer 2025 Land Surface Temperature (LST) in Calgary

I am sharing the latest results of my spatial data analysis, focusing on the intra-urban thermal zones across Calgary, AB. The attached choropleth map and bar chart detail the average Land Surface Temperature. While the map shows whole city area, the bar chart made specifically for built-up residential communities. To ensure accurate and fair comparison, undeveloped greenfield areas and strictly industrial zones were filtered out.

❗ Based on the Summer 2025 satellite composite data:
🔴 The highest average LST values among residential areas were recorded in Rundle, Manchester, Marlborough, Martindale, and Castleridge.
🔵 The lowest average LST values were observed in Rideau Park, Roxboro, Discovery Ridge, Eau Claire, and Osprey Hill.

Find more interesting posts with hashtag #GreennessOfCalgary

#RStats #GISChat #QGIS #SpatialAnalysis #RemoteSensing #EarthObservation #UrbanEcology #OpenScience #YYC #Alberta #Canada

🔥 Mapping the Urban Thermal Environment: Summer 2025 Land Surface Temperature (LST) in Calgary

I am sharing the latest results of my spatial data analysis, focusing on the intra-urban thermal zones across Calgary, AB. The attached choropleth map and bar chart detail the average Land Surface Temperature. While the map shows whole city area, the bar chart made specifically for built-up residential communities. To ensure accurate and fair comparison, undeveloped greenfield areas and strictly industrial zones were filtered out.

❗ Based on the Summer 2025 satellite composite data:
🔴 The highest average LST values among residential areas were recorded in Rundle, Manchester, Marlborough, Martindale, and Castleridge.
🔵 The lowest average LST values were observed in Rideau Park, Roxboro, Discovery Ridge, Eau Claire, and Osprey Hill.

#RStats #GISChat #QGIS #SpatialAnalysis #RemoteSensing #EarthObservation #UrbanEcology #OpenScience #GreennessOfCalgary #YYC #Alberta #Canada

Saturday Data Dive: Mapping Calgary’s Thermal Fingerprint 🛰️📊

Spent some quality time with GEE, R and Landsat-8/9 data today.

I’ve just finished processing a Median Land Surface Temperature (LST) model for Calgary, covering the entire Summer of 2025. This isn't just a single-day snapshot—it’s a robust composite of many satellite scenes, filtered to show the true intra-urban thermal zones.

Quick Takeaways:
🔹 Surface temperature in some busines area and "heat traps" peaked at over 51.3°C.
🔹 The contrast between our "Cool Islands" and "Extreme Heat Zones" is striking.
🔹 This automated workflow in R allows for a granular look at urban climate resilience that standard reports often miss.

I’m currently finalizing a full breakdown and a community-by-community analysis.
Stay tuned—the detailed article is coming soon!

#Calgary #DataScience #UrbanHeatIsland #RemoteSensing #ClimateResilience #Landsat #RStats #GIS #Sustainability #GEE #EnvironmentalData #Summer2025 #YYC #GreennessOfCalgary #Alberta #Canada

Saturday Data Dive: Mapping Calgary’s Thermal Fingerprint 🛰️📊

Spent some quality time with GEE, R and Landsat-8/9 data today.

I’ve just finished processing a Median Land Surface Temperature (LST) model for Calgary, covering the entire Summer of 2025. This isn't just a single-day snapshot—it’s a robust composite of many satellite scenes, filtered to show the true intra-urban thermal zones.

Quick Takeaways:
🔹 Surface temperature in some busines area and "heat traps" peaked at over 51.3°C.
🔹 The contrast between our "Cool Islands" and "Extreme Heat Zones" is striking.
🔹 This automated workflow in R allows for a granular look at urban climate resilience that standard reports often miss.

I’m currently finalizing a full breakdown and a community-by-community analysis.
Stay tuned—the detailed article is coming soon!

#Calgary #DataScience #UrbanHeatIsland #RemoteSensing #ClimateResilience #Landsat #RStats #GIS #Sustainability #GEE #EnvironmentalData #Summer2025 #YYC #GreennessOfCalgary #Alberta #Canada

Calgary experienced a very wet and rainy summer in 2025. Naturally, the city’s vegetation responded vigorously to the high moisture levels, showing lush growth compared to the scorching summer of 2024. 🌿
Among residential areas, tiny Roxboro showed the most significant "greening"! Meanwhile, the lowest "recovery" rates were observed in the city's newest communities.

Read more about my research and explore the full data here:
https://www.datastory.org.ua/how-much-greener-is-calgary-in-2025/

#Calgary #NDVI #RemoteSensing #DataScience #Climate #YYC #OpenData #RStats #GreennessOfCalgary

Calgary experienced a very wet and rainy summer in 2025. Naturally, the city’s vegetation responded vigorously to the high moisture levels, showing lush growth compared to the scorching summer of 2024. 🌿
Among residential areas, tiny Roxboro showed the most significant "greening"! Meanwhile, the lowest "recovery" rates were observed in the city's newest communities.

Read more about my research and explore the full data here:
https://www.datastory.org.ua/how-much-greener-is-calgary-in-2025/

#Calgary #NDVI #RemoteSensing #DataScience #Climate #YYC #OpenData #RStats #GreennessOfCalgary

How did Calgary respond to the wet summer of 2025?
Here’s the median summer NDVI map derived from Sentinel-2 imagery.
You can clearly see the Bow River corridor, Nose Hill Park, and the contrast between established tree-rich communities and newer developments.

Full analysis here:
https://www.datastory.org.ua/how-much-greener-is-calgary-in-2025/

#Geospatial #NDVI #UrbanClimate #Calgary #RStats #GreennessOfCalgary #yyc #Apberta #QGIS #foss4g #EnvironmentalMonitoring #UrbanHealth

New analysis published:
“How Much Greener Is Calgary in 2025?”

Using Sentinel-2 data (~8.5M pixels), I calculated NDVI change (ΔNDVI) between the 2024 drought and the rainy 2025 season across all Calgary communities.

Clear spatial pattern:
• Strong rebound in mature tree neighborhoods
• Limited change in developing, impervious-heavy zones

Method: R (terra, tidyverse) + QGIS
Community boundaries: Open Calgary

Article + interactive table: https://www.datastory.org.ua/how-much-greener-is-calgary-in-2025/

#RemoteSensing #NDVI #OpenData #UrbanEcology #RStats #QGIS #GreennessOfCalgary

How much does landform position matter for vegetation dynamics across Calgary?

I explored how ΔNDVI (2025-2024) varies across geomorphon classes (summit, ridge, slope, hollow, valley, etc.) using a large spatial dataset (~194k observations).

A few key points from the analysis:
• Non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis test shows statistically significant differences between geomorphons
• However, the effect size is moderate (ε² ≈ 0.04)
• Distributions strongly overlap — landform position matters, but it is not a deterministic driver
• Median ΔNDVI tends to be higher in lower landscape positions (hollows, footslopes, valleys), consistent with moisture and accumulation controls

#EnvironmentalData #RemoteSensing #NDVI #LandscapeEcology #Geomorphology #DataAnalysis #RStats
#ReproducibleResearch #Calgary #GreennessOfCalgary #Sentinel2

#GreennessOfCalgary
I’ve almost finished it!
I’ve uploaded all eight parts of “The Greenness of Calgary: A Community-Level Atlas (2025). Contrast Color Edition” to #Gumroad

Each part is a separate PDF using the “classic” high-contrast NDVI palette, optimized for visual interpretation of vegetation patterns. (The soft green palette will come later.)

I’ve created a dedicated landing page with descriptions of all releases and download links.
📎 Landing page is here: https://datastory.gumroad.com/l/qemrgul

💲 The materials are available under a “pay what you want” model — free or with optional support.

This is my first attempt at publishing geospatial analytical materials in this format. I apologise for some template-like descriptions. I hope this atlas series will be useful for researchers, enthusiasts, and anyone interested in Calgary’s urban ecology.

#Calgary #YYC #UrbanEcology #NDVI #RemoteSensing #GIS #OpenData #Geospatial #DataVisualization #Cartography #QGIS #FOSS #Canada #Alberta #RStats #Sentinel2

I like to verify my remote-sensing results directly in the field. Besides basic self-validation, field walks often generate new ideas and hypotheses.

For mobile field GIS, I use QField, loading both final map layers and custom templates for data collection.
Here’s an example from Nose Hill Park, where I checked several locations that showed a consistent NDVI increase in 2025 compared to 2024.
Field observations help confirm whether the spectral trends match real vegetation changes on the ground.

#RemoteSensing #EarthObservation #GIS #QGIS #QField #NDVI #VegetationMonitoring #Sentinel2 #FieldWork #GeoSpatial #OpenData #GeoDataScience #UrbanEcology #Calgary #NoseHillPark #Alberta #Canada #Copernicus #CopernicusSentinel #GreennessOfCalgary

Nose Hill Park, Calgary
Median composite of Sentinel-2 imagery (mid-May to mid-September 2025).
Band combination: 12-8-3, emphasizing substrate contrasts, vegetation structure, and moisture patterns.

#RemoteSensing #EarthObservation #Sentinel2 #OpenData #GIS #QGIS #GeoDataArt #GeoSpectralArt #Calgary #Alberta #UrbanEcology #GeospatialAnalysis #Canada #GreennessOfCalgary #Copernicus #CopernicusSentinel #NoseHillPark

Comparison of the median-seasoned NDVI for central Calgary: 2024 vs 2025

Here is a side-by-side look at how the vegetation conditions in central Calgary changed between two years, using median-seasoned NDVI maps derived from Sentinel-2 imagery.

You can clearly see the interannual differences in greenness — especially in parks, riparian zones, and residential areas with large tree cover.
The spatial patterns remain stable, but 2025 shows noticeably higher NDVI in many neighbourhoods due to more favourable moisture conditions.

This is part of my ongoing project on analyzing the vegetation dynamics of Calgary communities: #GreennessOfCalgary

#RemoteSensing #EarthObservation #NDVI #Sentinel2 #Calgary #UrbanEcology #GIS #RStats #DataAnalysis #EnvironmentalMonitoring #Copernicus #Alberta #Canada #YYC #UrbanHealth #QGIS #FOSS

🌿 Greenness of Calgary Communities (Summer 2024)
📎 https://www.datastory.org.ua/greenness-of-calgary-communities-summer-2024/

Last year I published my first attempt to analyze the actual vegetation condition across Calgary and to build a data-driven ranking of its communities based on median summer NDVI. It was my very first experiment in assessing urban greenness at the neighbourhood scale — but the results turned out surprisingly insightful.
Some patterns were expected, while others revealed unexpectedly low vegetation density in places that looked green from the ground.

This exploration later grew into a much larger line of research on Calgary’s greenness, climate resilience, and spatial variability in vegetation health. You can find some results here with thematic hashtag #GreennessOfCalgary

If you're working on urban ecology, remote sensing, or land-cover analysis of Canadian cities — I’d be happy to exchange ideas.

#NDVI #RemoteSensing #Calgary #UrbanEcology #Sentinel2 #QGIS #RStats #Alberta #Canada #EnvironmentalMonitoring #GeospatialAnalysis

Continuing my exploration of #GreennessOfCalgary

I’m working with two large geospatial datasets for the city:
• median summer NDVI for 2024 and 2025 (Sentinel-2)
• MRDEM-2024 digital elevation model

From the NDVI maps I calculated ΔNDVI, and from MRDEM I derived aspect, slope, and TPI, all resampled into the ΔNDVI raster grid.

I then asked a simple question:
👉 Does terrain aspect influence ΔNDVI between 2024 and 2025?

To check this, I:
– converted aspect values into 8 cardinal directions
– excluded flat areas (slope ≤ 2°)
– randomly sampled ~60,000 rows from the original 8.5-million-row dataset

The result:
Although the Kruskal–Wallis test detects statistically significant differences (inevitable with such a large sample size), the distributions show that aspect has almost no meaningful influence on ΔNDVI.

In other words, the observed increase in greenness in some parts of Calgary is likely driven by other environmental or anthropogenic factors, not by terrain orientation.

#NDVI #Calgary #RemoteSensing

Here is the city-wide map of ΔNDVI for Calgary — the difference between the median summer NDVI (mid-May to mid-September) in 2024 vs 2025.

As in the previous post, the signal is quite clear:
2025 shows a systematic increase in vegetation index across almost the entire city, but some areas showing a decrease.

This pattern is consistent with what I see in the frequency distributions of median NDVI:
2025 has a broader, greener distribution — likely reflecting better moisture conditions and a more favourable growing season.

Working with ΔNDVI on a pixel-by-pixel scale (10 × 10 m) offers a much more detailed picture of how vegetation responds spatially, compared with community-level averages or city-wide summaries.

#NDVI #Sentinel2 #RemoteSensing #Calgary #GreennessOfCalgary #GIS #Rstats #DataAnalysis #ESA #UrbanEcology #Copernicus #CopernicusSentinel #SustainableDevelopment #SustainableUrbanDevelopment #Alberta #Canada #EnvironmentalMonitoring #GIS #Geospatial

Here is the city-wide map of ΔNDVI for Calgary — the difference between the median summer NDVI (mid-May to mid-September) in 2024 vs 2025.

As in the previous post, the signal is quite clear:
2025 shows a systematic increase in vegetation index across almost the entire city, but areas showing a decrease.

This pattern is consistent with what I see in the frequency distributions of median NDVI:
2025 has a broader, greener distribution — likely reflecting better moisture conditions and a more favourable growing season.

Working with ΔNDVI on a pixel-by-pixel scale (10 × 10 m) offers a much more detailed picture of how vegetation responds spatially, compared with community-level averages or city-wide summaries.

#NDVI #Sentinel2 #RemoteSensing #Calgary #GreennessOfCalgary #GIS #Rstats #DataAnalysis #ESA #UrbanEcology #Copernicus #CopernicusSentinel #SustainableDevelopment #SustainableUrbanDevelopment #Alberta #Canada #EnvironmentalMonitoring #GIS #Geospatial

🌿 A noticeable shift in the statistical distribution of median NDVI values for Calgary between 2024 and 2025.

🛰️ Both histograms are based on Sentinel-2 data with 10×10 m resolution, and each NDVI value represents the median for mid-May to mid-September.

The contrast is striking:

🔥 2024 shows a distribution shifted toward lower NDVI values → drier summer, weaker vegetation growth, more heat-stress periods.
🏡 2025 is clearly shifted to the right → stronger greenness, more moisture, and more stable summer conditions.

This kind of interannual comparison reveals how much the city’s ecosystems can vary from year to year — using nothing more than open satellite data and clean statistics.

#NDVI #Sentinel2 #RemoteSensing #Calgary #GreennessOfCalgary #GIS #Rstats #DataAnalysis #ESA #UrbanEcology #Copernicus #CopernicusSentinel #SustainableDevelopment #SustainableUrbanDevelopment #Alberta #Canada

📌 Thematic hashtags I use in my Mastodon posts

To help readers navigate the different topics I work on, I use several specialized hashtags.
Here is a short overview of each one:

#GreennessOfCalgary — my project on analyzing the vegetation patterns and green spaces of Calgary using remote sensing, classification, and cartography.

#ClimateOfCalgary — visualization and analysis of local meteorological data.

#SvystunovaGully — materials from my Independent long-term study of geochemical processes in groundwater around a high-mineralized mine-water impoundment in Svystunova Gully (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15528794).

#InhuletsRiver — posts related to the research project on the technogenic impact on the Inhulets River (Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine), in which I take part.

#GeoDataArt #GeoSpectralArt — beautiful images that emerge during the analysis of satellite data.

The list will expand as my projects evolve.