UK consulting engineer HR Wallingford will work with the UK Space Agency to monitor work at several water dams in the Cerro de Pasco region of Peru.
Satellite images of the projects will be used to take spectrograms and detect traces of iron at dams where toxic waste is stored.
HR Wallingford’s Damsat software will use Earth observation techniques, as well as data from navigation systems linked with local sensors.
Image courtesy of CNES/Airbus/Google/Landsat/Copernicus
Marta Roca Collell, HR Wallingford’s project manager, said: ‘Damsat allows authorities to monitor dams remotely, which is particularly useful in isolated locations or where there are concerns about dam management."
The engineer added that the technology could be employed worldwide to spot problems with structures before they fail.
The technology has previously been used on a pilot scheme, but now funding for it has been extended by the UK Space Agency as part of its International Partnership Programme. This is a five-year £152m project to offer UK space expertise to governments and organisations around the world.
Top image courtesy of DAMSAT
