Build and Operate a Ground Receiving Station of the ENVISAT Remote Sensing Satellite for All-weather Environmental Monitoring

Principal Investigator:
Lin, Hui

Co-investigator(s):
Lian Shizhu
Shao Yun

Summary:
This project aims to build and operate a ground receiving station on the campus of The Chinese University of Hong Kong for capturing and processing satellite-sourced remote sensing data and information. In particular, such image-based data will be processed for sale to governments, public authorities and private corporations throughout South China and neighboring regions. In the longer term, this project is expected to help build-up a new spatial information infrastructure in Hong Kong to foster the growth of new industries and businesses based around remote sensing data processing, software development, and other value-added professional services. As one of important results of this project, the station will become a new platform to enhance the technology collaboration between HKSAR and the mainland, accelerating the development of the remote sensing industrial in this greater Pearl River Delta region.

This project will initially operate with the radar image from ENVISAT, a remote sensing satellite. This all-weather remote sensing system is capable of monitoring Hong Kong and other neighboring regions notwithstanding the frequent cloudy and rainy weather. An urgent need of this station has been brought up because of the increasing natural disasters in Hong Kong and the neighboring region, including landslide and subsidence, earthquake, flood, and typhoon.

Major research on the applications of the radar remote sensing images will be conducted after the station commences operation. Known regions of interest will be selected for case studies on environmental and disaster monitoring. The results will then be used to exploit the market for such products and services.