Astron Environmental Services Pty Ltd

Astron Environmental Services has over 30 years of providing expert analysis in the environmental and resource sectors to industry and government authorities, both nationally and internationally. While Astron is primarily an environmental consultancy, with significant expertise relating to the minerals industry, the environmental and geospatial teams have leading researchers in the disciplines of remote sensing, eco-hydrology, spatial modelling, and decision trigger points for management. Further details on Astron’s capability can be found here: http://www.astron.com.au/services/

Organisational Capability

Astron Environmental Services has over 30 years of providing expert analysis in the environmental and resource sectors to industry and government authorities, both nationally and internationally. While Astron is primarily an environmental consultancy, with significant expertise relating to the minerals industry, the environmental and geospatial teams have leading researchers in the disciplines of remote sensing, eco-hydrology, spatial modelling, and decision trigger points for management. Further details on Astron’s capability can be found here: http://www.astron.com.au/services/

Projects

Wetland Hydrological Monitoring/ Historical Time Series Analysis
• State-wide of Landsat 5 TM, Landsat 7 ETM+ and Landsat 8 imagery to quantify the inundation history across Victoria. • 30 year historical time series analysis. • First commercial use of the National Computer Infrastructure, located in Canberra Australia. • The results will improve the currently State Wetlands Directory and be utilised in state environmental management.
Remote sensing analysis of riparian environments
• Development and application of vegetation classification to Worldview 3 and aerial imagery in north Western Australia. • 10 years of data across 6,000km. • Uses Python scripts and automated processing on AWS. • Outcomes used for monitoring change in vegetation over time, and response from potential impact areas compared to reference areas over the same time period. • Outputs include: classified layer of tree canopies, raster images showing change in vegetation index, detection of areas of decline and increase in vegetation health, reporting statistics for each site describing changes within specified impact zones.
Gamba Grass Classification
• Apply machine learning techniques to high resolution multispectral imagery and high density full waveform lidar datasets to classify the highly invasive weed gamba grass in far north Queensland. • Achieved greater than 99% classification accuracy and produced gamba grass probability maps across 1,200 km2 of tenure. • Detailed reporting of methods, accuracy of testing and results
Urban Forest Monitoring
• Acquire raw frames from manned aerial surveys across each local government and apply photogrammetric processing to produce four band orthomosaics and high density point clouds. • Isolate vegetation and stratify tree canopies by height. • Acquire satellite thermal infrared imagery and calculate Land Surface Temperature. • Complete zonal analyses to report canopy cover and height classes by different land tenure and location. • Regress Land Surface Temperature with canopy variables to define the relationship between urban trees and the urban heat island effect. • Produce detailed reporting to support client development of Urban Forest Strategies.
Priority Ecological Community Monitoring
• Monitoring vegetation health of a Priority Ecological Community using a time series of satellite multispectral imagery. • Calculation of the Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index, calculation of annual change layers and subsequent cluster analysis and reporting of statistical tests. • Reporting to support client management of the site.