New facility to access high-resolution data for research projects
Amresh Gunasingham, Straits Times 20 Jun 09;
Professor Peter Ng, the director of TMSI, said the institutes are working together on a study on the state of the marine environment in Pulau Semakau. He said researchers will work on a long-term conservation plan for the island, using the razor-sharp satellite imaging to study the growth patterns of mangrove and coral reefs there.
A SATELLITE dish at the top of a new $9 million building at the National University of Singapore (NUS) can allow scientists to pick up satellite images of objects as small as 50cm in size.
This level of precision means that the satellite can pick out a man walking, although he will appear as only a speck. For bigger objects, such as a car, the satellite can keep track of where the vehicle is heading.
Researchers in Singapore have previously depended on satellite imagery with a resolution of 1m.
The Sea-to-Space centre, which was opened by Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim yesterday, will tap data from the US$500 million (S$730 million) GeoEye-1 satellite - the world's highest-resolution remote sensing satellite available for civilian use.
More than $5 million worth of state-of-the-art equipment is currently housed at the 1,830 sq m facility, where over 80 researchers from two research institutes - the Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing (Crisp) and the Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI) - will come together to engage in projects covering a range of disciplines.
Established 17 years ago, Crisp currently operates a ground station which tracks, receives and processes data from remote sensing satellites. It monitors hot spot regions over parts of Indonesia during the haze season.
TMSI has a large portfolio of projects in the field of environmental science.
At the opening ceremony, Professor Barry Halliwell, deputy president (research and technology) at NUS, said: 'The coming together of these two research bodies under one roof is in tandem with the university's drive towards high quality research over a broad range of cross-disciplinary projects.'
Professor Peter Ng, the director of TMSI, said the institutes are working together on a study on the state of the marine environment in Pulau Semakau. He said researchers will work on a long-term conservation plan for the island, using the razor-sharp satellite imaging to study the growth patterns of mangrove and coral reefs there.
'This will be a test site where we can bring our different skills together,' he said.
Mr Kwoh Leong Keong, director of Crisp, said: 'The new technology really provides a close-up view...We can now see intricate details such as the lines along a tennis court on top of a building.'
The new satellite imaging system also has a part to play in the humanitarian relief operations that Singapore participates in. 'With this technology, we can see the actual activity on the ground - the layout of roads, canals, and even trees,' he said.
The ability to see very fine features improves mapping capabilities.
'This is important in conducting relief operations during disasters such as typhoons,' said Mr Kwoh. 'We need to know such details to know exactly where to go.'
He highlighted the example of Crisp's role during the 2004 tsunami in providing high resolution imagery of areas in Indonesia's Aceh province stricken by the disaster as something that can be improved upon. 'The roads were broken, so evacuation teams needed to map out alternative paths to rescue people. Previous satellite imaging could not provide such detail,' said Mr Kwoh.
The centre is the only ground station in the region to be able to receive and process data from the GeoEye-1 satellite.
The facility's capabilities will be further boosted later this year when it gains access to another 0.5m resolution satellite - the WorldView.
This will make Crisp the first station in the world to receive data from two 0.5m resolution satellites at the same facility, said Prof Halliwell. This means satellite images can be received in a shorter amount of time.
