Satellite imagery may spot pot

[Tom]

Space will be the final frontier for busting marijuana grow operations in Canada now that police researchers are backing satellite technology that can uncover hidden cannabis plantations.

 

While RCMP weren't hot about the idea a few years ago, a study just completed by the Canadian Police Research Centre shows that police forces would be crazy not to use the technology, if they can afford it.

 

Staff Sgt. Brian Thiessen, who led the recent study in British Columbia, said he was initially told not to bother with the research since it had already been attempted and failed.

 

Using satellite and airborne imagery in the summer of 2006, police researchers were able to find three outdoor grow-ops for every one located with existing detection techniques.

 

Researchers learned they can easily differentiate the reflection patterns of marijuana from other vegetation, which could be concealing the illegal plants.

 

IMPROVES ON STUDY

 

The finding improves on the previous study, which suggested satellite imagery couldn't distinguish between cannabis and other vegetation.

 

Thiessen said his research team found factual errors with the previous study.

 

The Canadian Police Research Centre partnered with the RCMP, Abbotsford police in B.C. and Titan Analysis Ltd. in the project.

 

Police researchers are carrying out further studies to determine how soon in a marijuana plant's growth that the satellite can detect it.

 

A common current approach to finding outdoor grow-ops involves police using air support to spot the plantations from above.

 

Each year in the National Capital Region, aerial patrols help officers on the ground locate the grow-ops. During a six-week campaign in the Ottawa area last summer and fall, police found nearly 40,000 marijuana plants.

 

Using high-resolution satellite imagery, researchers can now read a "spectral signature" from a marijuana plant and distinguish it from signatures of other plants.

 

Spying on drug operations using satellites isn't entirely new.

 

MASSIVE OPERATIONS

 

According to the police research centre, the United Nations uses the technique to monitor massive operations around the world, including in Afghanistan, Morocco, Myanmar, Laos, Peru, Colombia and Bolivia.

 

Thiessen said satellite photographs might not come cheap for Canadian police forces. It's likely that the services would compare the cost of their existing detection methods against the hi-tech option, he said.

 

Now that researchers have shown satellites can help locate grow-ops, they're studying other time-saving ways to help police find marijuana plantations.

 

Thiessen said researchers are also working on a project that will help police determine where marijuana can be grown geographically, thereby narrowing search patterns for the plant.

 

Author: By JON WILLING, SUN MEDIA

Date: 12 May 2007

Source: cnews.canoe.ca

Copyright: © 2007, Canoe Inc.

 

[loylty gets u nothing]

mmmm not real good imo

i was awaiting this technologies beinmg revisited

thanks for sharing tom

bil

[Ford]

Using high-resolution satellite imagery, researchers can now read a "spectral signature" from a marijuana plant and distinguish it from signatures of other plants.

 

Goes to show that Cannabis DOES infact, have its own definable heat signature.

[Indycar]

While RCMP weren't hot about the idea a few years ago, a study just completed by the Canadian Police Research Centre shows that police forces would be crazy not to use the technology, if they can afford it.

 

Thiessen said satellite photographs might not come cheap* for Canadian police forces. It's likely that the services would compare the cost of their existing detection methods against the hi-tech option, he said.

 

Good to see em not jump in boots 'n all, and considerin' financial side of things. Satellite time don't come cheap and from what i've gathered once ya booked in you've got to go with it, rain hail or shine. In a perfect world, it'd be ideal for em... But they still gotta be at the right place at the right time with the right conditions.

 

* =understatement

 

[WantDaChronic]

unless they do a study of say 500+ marijuana strains ranging from the most indica dominate to the most sativa dominate, they wont stand a chance of catching alot of grows using that technology

 

besides that, all you need is a person to shower the bush with seeds or plant a mj plant every 2-3m and it would look like the entire area was overgrowing with pot through the satellite, but to human eyes it would just look like normal bush in most cases

[sunnycoaststoner]

According to the police research centre, the United Nations uses the technique to monitor massive operations around the world, including in Afghanistan, Morocco, Myanmar, Laos, Peru, Colombia and Bolivia.

 

the un just want to know where they will get the cheapest smoko...all choice destinations for the serious bud smoker/jetsetter....wonder if nimbin97 has any stories from any of these countries?

 

infared technology is used to find unusual heat signitures coming from houses in the states now and has been use'd for years.

[Jess Stone]

And maybe it's done surreptitiously

 

 

 

Spies in the sky

nlnews@archant.co.uk

03 May 2007

 

EVERY home in the borough has been photographed from a "spy plane" - to help Haringey Council wage a war against householders wasting energy.

The council has compiled a "heat map" which can identify how much energy is escaping from each property.

THE PLANE swooped over the rooftops of Haringey to produce ""heat maps"" of every street which show energy wasteful properties glowing red

Councillor Isidoros Diakides, Labour's executive member for housing, said: "This single study will play a key role in helping us address three of the biggest issues currently facing Haringey - climate change, fuel poverty and housing waiting lists."

 

But the move has been criticised by Justin Hinchcliffe, of Haringey Conservatives, who said: "Given that the council cannot keep the streets clean, we're amazed that they've launched this project. Haringey should get its own house in order before it attacks residents and business. The council's record on, for example, recycling is poor and patchy and lights burn throughout the night in its Wood Green offices."

 

The colour coded map was created from footage taken by a plane fitted with a military thermal imaging camera.

 

The mapping took place at night in winter when buildings were heated and the cold air allowed high quality data from an altitude of 1,500 to 2,000 feet. The plane flew 17 runs back and forth across the borough.

 

Haringey Council is the first local authority in the country to publish an online heat map. It shows levels of heat loss from almost every building in the borough's 30 square kilometres.

 

Robert Wilkes, 39, boss of map suppliers hotmapping.co.uk, rejected it was an intrusion into people's privacy along the lines of satellite imaging service Google Earth.

 

He said: "It is less intrusive than Google Earth. You can go on the internet and see what colour car they're driving," he said.

 

"It's not a photograph. It's a measure of heat loss. Everybody should find it useful."

 

He added feedback from residents had been "nothing but positive".

 

The mapping took place in 2000 but Haringey, which spent £21,000 on the study, is understood to have commissioned a 2007 update.

 

Mr Wilkes said: "It will be useful to compare and contrast, but I believe this data would stand on its own," he said.

 

"It is obviously limited when it comes to new development in the borough, but the majority of the buildings will not have been modified in any way that would affect heat loss."

 

The footage of heat loss was converted into stills laid over a property map of the borough and converted into an easy to read colour code.

 

The council believes the map will encourage residents to better insulate their homes and identify homes in need of energy saving grants.

 

Councillor Bob Hare, the Liberal Democrat opposition's environmental spokesman, said: "After seven years the data has reduced in value but it's a good initiative and the sort of thing I would wish to have done myself if I was taking the decision."

 

article Muswell Hill Journal

 

 

Haringey Council London

 

http://www.haringey.gov.uk/thermal-map-2.gif

click to interactive map link

 

Hmmm,mmm seems like a very sneaky way to discover the Grow Ops !

BTW in the 70's the claim was made that Landsat satellitescould detect cannabis crops due to the unique spectrum reflected by cannabis , the claim was that it was unique in the plant world as it was missing an element contained in all other plant species ,I don't remember what element it was claimed that cannabis did not have, but say for instance it did not have phosphorus in its cellular make up ,this would it was claimed make cannabis stick out like dog balls, at the time I certainly believed it to be true ,it was claimed the first time the story surfaced that they could resolve down to 1/4 acre crops and it surfaced a couple of years later still late 70's early 80's that the resolution was even better!

Edited May 13, 2007 by Jess Stone

[Andrew Edward]

OMFG!!!

WHY THE FUCK ARE THEY PLAYING GOD!!!

I can not say ANYTHING at all, its out there and there gonna use it, they will be kicking in doors and bashing in heads and ripping out plants wow what fucking justified heros!!

so if i had a plant or two in my yard they'd does it mean they will come over and smash my face in with there barge poles?

 

or would they just fine me an rip it out the ground? (im Australian)

Its kinda psychotic when ya think about it, they wanna smack me up side the head for smokin pot, yet they wanna sell my brother beer, ciggerettes and Valium? that valium shits fucked him up and he is HOOKED on it, on day without and he is a complete mess, yelling screaming kikin shit in just plain crazy yet the drug companies know this, thats why they love it, he will be on it for a very fucking long time so they have him in there cage beggin for the drip.

right this worlds so fansastic aint it...

 

By the looks of things, in 20 or less years you wont even be able to pee outside with out them picking up the heat of your urine and wanting to accuseme of peeing on my plants to help em grow? (which works)

why not just stick a fucking tracking device in my ARSE!!!

this is so psychotic this is fucked up, it should be used to bust HUGE crops, to bust those fuk wads charging us for bags and making thousands of us little guys.

 

they need to back the fuck up and stop wasteing everyones money on giving the lil guys a hard time, the lil guys like me tryna grow our OWN pot so our cash stays in circulation, that way i can afford to buy the "SAFE" to use goods like tobacco coffee and all the other shit we eat and drink thats killing us, precribed medication fucked my youth up, killed anna nichole smith an numerous others yet its ok to sell the shit because it all come down to "the users responability"

makes one wanna scream how can our own fucking governments be so retarded? the same applies to alcohol consumption, if u drink to death it aint the governments fault you were a wingtard an killed your self as it applies to all shit like precription drugs, yet in 10 000 years of use not one cannabis overdose....

I think there is something more to the 'problem' that all smokers and non smokers, hell the world in general is not being told, why else would the majority of the POWER PLAYAS (governments) act as if i have a fucking GUN against BILL GATES HEAD!!!

 

But thats jus one mans opinion...

[Alison Myrden]

Thanx for posting this Tom.

I agree Andrew... WHo DO they think they are?

 

 

Canada sure is going backward aren't we?

 

If you are confused, how do you think WE feel???

 

 

Alison

xx

[Andrew Edward]

umm yeah what i posted above kinda sounds aggressive ay , its just an opinion tho people so yeah sorry it sounds so mean an agressive an all this certinily not waht i intended on comeing across as

 

p.s. i aint sur ei anyones seen this before but a mate sent it via instant messenger an its good for a laught so yeah check it out