The Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing (CSTARS) is a

ground station A ground station, Earth station, or Earth terminal is a terrestrial radio station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft (constituting part of the ground segment of the spacecraft system), or reception of radio waves fro ...

owned by the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science that receives imagery data from a variety of remote sensing

satellites A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotop ...

. CSTARS is located on the University of Miami's Richmond campus in Miami, Florida at .

Overview

The center's mission is to collect

satellite imagery Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell ima ...

for environmental monitoring of hurricanes, volcanoes, landslides and other natural or man made disasters. In 2000, the University of Miami purchased the United States Naval Observatory Secondary National Time Standard Facility. The purchase included of land with several buildings and a 20-meter

antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

once used for Very Long Baseline Interferometry. This large antenna is currently used to support scientific communications with the

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

(on behalf of the National Science Foundation). Two 11 meter X-band antennas were added to create a high bandwidth data reception capability for the downlink of satellite image data. Scientists and staff perform research and analysis activities on-site as well. The station mask covers a very large area stretching from

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...

in northeastern Canada down to northern South America in the south. The mask includes Central America, the eastern Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean Basin, the Gulf of Mexico and much of the Eastern US including Eastern Seaboard. CSTARS provides a VoIP communication system for the

Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station is the United States scientific research station at the South Pole of the Earth. It is the southernmost point under the jurisdiction (not sovereignty) of the United States. The station is located on the ...

. Admiral John Stavridis, former commanding officer of United States Southern Command, wrote the following about CSTARS in his book ''Partnership for the Americas''

Projects

Hurricane Katrina Damage Assessment and Disaster Relief

CSTARS played a vital role in the damage assessment and relief efforts of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

. The first remote sensing images illustrating the extent of the flooding in New Orleans were collected at CSTARS.

Project with Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

The United States Department of Homeland Security has included CSTARS as one of its "Centers of Excellence" so that CSTARS will work with the Stevens Institute of Technology to research port security and maritime monitoring issues.

Project with Office of Naval Research (ONR)

The

Office of Naval Research The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to plan ...

awarded CSTARS a grant to support satellite based research studies on internal waves and typhoons in the western Pacific Ocean.

Palau

CSTARS participated in a

Pew Charitable Trusts The Pew Charitable Trusts is an independent non-profit, non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent ...

study to examine how to protect one of the largest Marine Protected (MPA) areas in the world through the utilization of commercially available earth imaging satellites.''The Republic of Palau Exclusive Economic Zone MONITORING, CONTROL, AND SURVEILLANCE
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References

External links

{{authority control Remote sensing research institutes Earth sciences organizations Meteorological organizations Geographical technology University of Miami Geographic data and information organizations in the United States