*Some of the products of the REASoN project are now available through this site. They include GIS and remote sensing data, documents, publications, and software modules. Currently, small subset of lidar data (tile 8) of the waste site, monthly progess reports, and publications are available in Data menu. The alpha version of the monitoring subsystem modules are available in Software menu. In order to download the products, you should register first and login with you account. Please click Login for registration.

Hazards arise from the interaction between natural systems, human systems, and technology (Cutter, 1993).  While different in their origins and impacts, the way in which society prepares for and responds to environmental hazards is similar.  The emergency response (or hazards) cycle includes response elements that a) occur during the event (rescue, relief, initial recovery), b) occur after an event (mitigation including planning, recovery, reconstruction), and c) those that take place prior to the event (monitoring, modeling, risk and vulnerability assessment, warning, and evacuation).  This research will improve the quality and usefulness of remote sensing-derived and other geospatial information in several aspects of the emergency response cycle. 

The Remote Sensing-assisted Hazardous Waste Site Monitoring Decision Support System (RSHDSS) is under development as part of a NASA REASoN project at the University of South Carolina. The RSHDSS is a SDSS assisting hazardous waste site managers in the process of analyzing remotely sensed imagery for a hazard event and preparing emergency response. The RSHDSS consists of four subsystems: database management subsystem, monitoring subsystem, risk assessment subsystem, and emergency response subsystem. The system is under development in the ArcGIS 9.0 VBA environment and uses other software packages including MS Access 2003, ERDAS Imagine 8.7, and C5.0/Cubist. The monitoring subsystem will monitor the waste site if there is a failure like subsidence or vegetation stress. If such a failure is detected, the risk assessment subsystem will assess the risk regarding the failure. The emergency response subsystem will advise the user what response for the failure will be appropriate. All input data and intermediate/final products in the above three subsystems will be managed through the database management subsystem.

The system development schedule includes:

  • Spring 2005: Monitoring subsystem (Alpha version)
  • Fall 2005: Monitoring subsystem (Beta version), Database management subsystem (Alpha version)
  • Spring 2006: Database management subsystem (Beta version), Risk assessment subsystem (Alpha version)
  • Fall 2006: Risk assessment subsystem (Beta version), Emergency response (Alpha version)
  • Spring 2007: Version 1.0 of the RSHDSS

 

  
References

Cutter, S.L., 1993,   Living with Risk.  London: Edward Arnold. 

 

** Some photos used in the title logo were provided by DigitalGlobe, Inc.,.

 

Last Updated: Thursday, December 08, 2005
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