Using satellites to monitor coastal areas in the South

From November 1 to 4, many scientific agencies in Ho Chi Minh City attended a seminar on Ocean Models and Information Systems in the 16th Asia-Pacific region to exchange possibilities for implementation. Application of Technology FORMOSAT-2 satellite image data into Southern coastal areas, lasting from 2006-2008.

The above project aims to deploy the application of FORMOSAT-2 satellite image data technology to the assessment of coastal pollution due to oil spills and dirty waste sources from the mainland.

At the same time, the project also helps to plan and manage mangrove forests and ecotourism, model wave-flow and spread coastal pollution, marine meteorological monitoring, coastal disaster monitoring. , especially the problem of coastal erosion, contributing to improving the quality of related subjects in higher education.

The area where the application is deployed is the Southern coastal region, Can Gio-Ho Chi Minh City and the surrounding areas where FORMOSAT-2 satellite can provide data.

FORMOSAT - 2 captured the image of Phuket and Thailand on December 29, 2004, after being devastated by the Sumatra tsunami.

Pictures of Southern waters will be provided daily by FORMOSAT-2. These images will have a resolution of 2m for black-and-white images or 8m for color images, with 24km scanners. This is a commercial satellite image, priced at 1 USD / km2.

The deployment of satellite data application of the project is an urgent issue of the practice of coastal Southern Vietnam, especially in Ho Chi Minh City and Can Gio region. This is both a national mangrove forest and an ecological tourism area. In addition, this area is also polluted due to industrialization and urbanization processes from the provinces in the Saigon-Dong Nai basin and is polluted by spilling oil from boats to the ports. in the basin. Obtaining satellite data, such as FORMOSAT-2, is a favorable condition for studying these issues.

In the desire to apply satellite data to contribute to solving specific problems in the Southern coastal area, many research units in the South of Vietnam Institute of Science and Technology such as: Institute of Physics and Stool Institute of Geography, Institute of Information Technology, Institute of Tropical Biology is carrying out necessary procedures to directly participate in this project.

At the International Conference on 'Using Space Technology in Disaster Monitoring', by the UN Office on Space Issues (UN Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs -UNOOSA), held October 18-22 -2004 in Munich, with more than 70 reports from 50 countries around the world, admitted that the application of satellite technology is one of the indispensable needs in meteorological forecasting, monitoring and preventing natural disasters. ears, environmental monitoring, resource use planning, etc.

However, it is very expensive to invest in satellite data with a resolution of less than a few meters, so at the Munich Conference, developing countries have offered to share from developed countries for use with Acceptable charge. In response to this demand, the APEC Secretariat has approved a project to support FORMOSAT-2 satellite image data for member economies in need.