Andrew Yee[_1_]
February 13th 08, 02:30 AM
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
Clayton, Australia
Primary Contact:
Dr Alex Held (BSC MSC PHD)
Head of COSSA
CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research
CSIRO Office of Space Science & Applications
Phone: 61 2 6246 5718
Fax: 61 2 6246 5988
Media Contacts:
Mr Bill Stephens
Media Liaison Officer
CSIRO Communications
CSIRO Media Liaison
Phone: 61 2 6276 6152
Fax: 61 2 6276 6821
Dr Simon Torok
Communication and Marketing Manager
CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research
Phone: 61 3 9239 4645
Fax: 61 3 9239 4444
5 February 2008
Reference: 08/13
Monitoring Asia-Pacific disasters from space
A space-based international Earth observation network to detect and monitor
natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific region has been formed with a
substantial contribution from Australian science.
Called Sentinel Asia, the network of information-delivery websites has its
roots in the Australian bushfire tracking system, Sentinel Hotspots, which
was developed in 2002 by CSIRO, Geoscience Australia and the Australian
Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation.
"This will be a critical information delivery system on wildfires, flooding,
drought, and landslides in our region, where those events can be seen by
Earth observing satellites in real time," says the coordinator of
Australia's input, senior CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research scientist Dr
Alex Held.
"Australia has had a pivotal, strategic role in developing the system which
has the potential to benefit billions of people in our region by assisting
authorities in a recovery response," he said. "The concept of Sentinel Asia
is to provide online information from Earth observation satellites in 'near
real-time' through a network of webGIS services such as the Australian
Sentinel Hotspots system."
Initially supported by the Japanese Government through the Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency (JAXA), Sentinel Asia aims to show the value of Earth
observation data for disaster management in the region. The system has been
activated 10 times by seven countries including Australia in the last 12
months, mostly in response to earthquakes and floods. Planned improvements
include further nodes in other countries, use of high bandwidth
communications satellites to provide information more quickly, and access to
a wider range of Earth observation satellites.
Dr Held said many of the causes and impacts of natural disasters, including
droughts, are observable, often in real-time, from space by orbiting or
geostationary Earth observing systems. "When efficiently combined with
modern information-distribution methods, this data can be sent rapidly to
affected communities and local emergency agencies in some cases as
early-warning before the disaster occurs, or as post-disaster maps, to
assist in recovery operations," he said.
The system largely uses free-to-air satellite imagery produced by
Earth-observing satellites operated by the US, Europe, Japan, India and, in
the future, other countries in Australasia which are planning satellite
launches.
[NOTE: An image supporting this release is available at
http://www.scienceimage.csiro.au/mediarelease/mr08-13.html ]
Clayton, Australia
Primary Contact:
Dr Alex Held (BSC MSC PHD)
Head of COSSA
CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research
CSIRO Office of Space Science & Applications
Phone: 61 2 6246 5718
Fax: 61 2 6246 5988
Media Contacts:
Mr Bill Stephens
Media Liaison Officer
CSIRO Communications
CSIRO Media Liaison
Phone: 61 2 6276 6152
Fax: 61 2 6276 6821
Dr Simon Torok
Communication and Marketing Manager
CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research
Phone: 61 3 9239 4645
Fax: 61 3 9239 4444
5 February 2008
Reference: 08/13
Monitoring Asia-Pacific disasters from space
A space-based international Earth observation network to detect and monitor
natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific region has been formed with a
substantial contribution from Australian science.
Called Sentinel Asia, the network of information-delivery websites has its
roots in the Australian bushfire tracking system, Sentinel Hotspots, which
was developed in 2002 by CSIRO, Geoscience Australia and the Australian
Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation.
"This will be a critical information delivery system on wildfires, flooding,
drought, and landslides in our region, where those events can be seen by
Earth observing satellites in real time," says the coordinator of
Australia's input, senior CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research scientist Dr
Alex Held.
"Australia has had a pivotal, strategic role in developing the system which
has the potential to benefit billions of people in our region by assisting
authorities in a recovery response," he said. "The concept of Sentinel Asia
is to provide online information from Earth observation satellites in 'near
real-time' through a network of webGIS services such as the Australian
Sentinel Hotspots system."
Initially supported by the Japanese Government through the Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency (JAXA), Sentinel Asia aims to show the value of Earth
observation data for disaster management in the region. The system has been
activated 10 times by seven countries including Australia in the last 12
months, mostly in response to earthquakes and floods. Planned improvements
include further nodes in other countries, use of high bandwidth
communications satellites to provide information more quickly, and access to
a wider range of Earth observation satellites.
Dr Held said many of the causes and impacts of natural disasters, including
droughts, are observable, often in real-time, from space by orbiting or
geostationary Earth observing systems. "When efficiently combined with
modern information-distribution methods, this data can be sent rapidly to
affected communities and local emergency agencies in some cases as
early-warning before the disaster occurs, or as post-disaster maps, to
assist in recovery operations," he said.
The system largely uses free-to-air satellite imagery produced by
Earth-observing satellites operated by the US, Europe, Japan, India and, in
the future, other countries in Australasia which are planning satellite
launches.
[NOTE: An image supporting this release is available at
http://www.scienceimage.csiro.au/mediarelease/mr08-13.html ]