What is rapid response satellite mapping all about

Asks danmiller103

A. Rapid response is a new technique of monitoring disasters, primarily fires so far, employed by Nasa in the US using its existing satellites. The project has been developed in conjunction with the University of Maryland and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service.

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Q. So what difference will rapid response make

A. Basically, Nasa's satellites already provide information on forest fires for example, but the data takes a long time to reach earth and up until now (until October 2001) it hasn't been very useable by anyone else apart from Nasa.

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This new project will process the data using algorithms and make images and data accessible within 2-6 hours of a disaster happening, instead of two to 18 days as happened before rapid response. This information will then be made available to other organisations apart from Nasa, relief agencies for example, and images will be posted on the Earth Observatory website. It will also enable forestry commissions to monitor the progress of a fire on the Internet in near real-time so they can react faster.

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In addition, once a fire is under control or has been put out, the aftercare team of land managers, soil scientists, wildlife specialists, hydrologists etc can use burn severity maps produced by the satellite to help prevent further erosion and identify where wildlife habitats have been affected.

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Q. Will new satellites be launched to support the service

A. No, Nasa's existing network of satellites will be used including the Terra, Seawif, Landsat and Gosat satellites already in orbit and the new Aqua bird due to launch in February 2002. Rapid response can only be achieved with high-resolution satellites if there are several satellites operating simultaneously, since each individual satellite covers too small a proportion of the earth's surface at one time. A constellation of about 12 satellites is thus required making access to any arbitrary point on earth achievable within a few hours.

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Q. What can the satellites actually see

A. The satellites carry a sensor that can spot the heat from fires. For example, on Nasa's Terra satellite the sensor is known as the Modis (short for moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer) that in effect "sees" heat rising from the earth and transfers this information onto active fire maps that show where fires are and where they are spreading. Fire-fighters can now access this data via the Internet, within minutes of a Terra overpass.

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Q. Will the satellites only be used for monitoring fires

A. The satellites can also be used to monitor dust and aerosol emissions and will be used in future to monitor severe storms, volcanoes, drought, floods and resulting famine.

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Q. Is the rapid response system only in use in the US

A. The pilot project outlined above took place in the US, but the UK is set to get in on the act. The UK is set to launch a disaster monitoring system in 2002 in collaboration with Singapore, Thailand, China, the Netherlands, Nigeria and Chile. All of the satellites will be built and supplied by the University of Surrey and form a suite of satellites orbiting the earth - which will provide data constantly with almost no wait time.

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A proportion of the data obtained will then be available to Reuters, other research universities and some will be held exclusively by each participating country. Each satellite will carry a Modis sensor and will be modelled on Nasa's rapid response project.

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By Karen Anderson

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