Spying on beavers from space could help save California

toBeavers and lifeguards environmental ? A group of scientists has developed an algorithm to monitor rodent ponds from space, which could help drought-stricken areas such as… California, to bounce back, according to the American magazine Wired. Beaver ponds and wetlands store water, filter pollutants, provide habitat for endangered species, and fight wildfires.

Long considered harmful, things are starting to change. In California, the Canadian beaver has become so popular that the state recently allocated millions of dollars to reintroduce it. The algorithm developed by the group of scientists, in collaboration with engineers from Google, therefore makes it possible to transform our understanding of paddle-tailed animals and help countries subject to climate restrictions facilitate their return.

A tool capable of detecting thousands of dams at once

It is worth noting that the beaver mapping model is the work of Eddie Corwin, a former member of Google's real estate sustainability group. Around 2018, the engineer began thinking about how his company could become a better steward of water, particularly the many coastal creeks that flow through his offices. And so he fell in love with beavers. Eddie Corwin knew that the infrastructure of these monsters (their meandering dams, their sprawling pools, their spidery canals…) is often so epic that they can be seen from space.

Because of the scientific data, there is a donc format with an automatic application algorithm to detect barrages and casting effects on the satellite images – it does not pass by, but by milliers on the fois, on all the surface of the condition. The tool should therefore help determine where to reintroduce beavers, where to restore waterways and wetlands, and where to create protected areas. It's good to be a beaver now.

com. dmp