Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing


The Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing is a ground station that receives imagery data from a variety of remote sensing satellites. CSTARS is owned and operated by the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, a college within the University of Miami.

Overview

CSTARS is a state-of-the-art real-time satellite reception and analysis facility located in southern Miami-Dade county, Florida. Its mission is collect satellite imagery 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 once used for Very Long Baseline Interferometry. This large antenna is currently used to support scientific communications with the Antarctic. 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 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.
CSTARS is located on the Richmond campus of the University of Miami at.

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. 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 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 study to examine how to protect one of the largest Marine Protected areas in the world through the utilization of commercially available earth imaging satellites.

Admiral James G. Stavridis on CSTARS

Admiral James Stavridis, former commanding officer of United States Southern Command, writes about CSTARS in his book . In chapter 7 entitled "Innovation", he describes how CSTARS aided SOUTHCOM in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts during his tenure in the SOUTHCOM AOR :