Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

The growth of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) is becoming a problem in many lakes, especially in areasthat are impacted by drainage of nutrient rich runoff from the surrounding watershed. As the SAV grows andspreads it uses the oxygen supply in the water. Eventually when the vegetation dies, it decomposes creatingoxygen depleted areas that are both potentially harmful to other aquatic organisms and make the area unfit forhuman activity. The SAV can impact navigation of waterways and when it dies the material can wash ashoreaffecting lake recreation and property owners. Lakes in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), and inparticular in Dartmouth, have been plagued with SAV growth recently.Understanding the distribution and density of the weed in the lake is the first step towards a management planto deal with this problem that is adversely affecting many of these lakes which are famous for paddling andother recreation activities. NSCC's Applied Geomatics Research Group (AGRG) will survey Lake Banook inDartmouth using an airborne topo-bathymetric lidar sensor that will measure lake bottom elevation and has thepotential to map the submerged vegetation. AGRG will work with Stantec Consulting Ltd. on this researchproject to evaluate how data from the topo-bathymetric lidar sensor can be used to map the lake submergedvegetation.