Modular Environmental Situational Awareness Technology

"This proposal addresses the activities associated with the development of the Modular Environmental Situational Awareness Technology (MESAT), which is intended as an important part of the United States' response to a terrorist attack using chemical orbiological weapons of mass destruction. The MESAT will be a suite of environmental, meteorological, geographic, and seismic sensors incorporated into a single package, and will be modular, mobile, easily maintainable, scaleable, capable of operatingautonomously or in continuous communication with a base station, and will output data in a manner to prevent unauthorized access. This proposal defines the activities which will occur during the Phase I portion of the development effort, and includes thedetermination of the feasibility of such a system, the identification of the specific set of parameters to be monitored, an assessment of the current state-of-the-art in the applicable sensor technologies and mobile environmental monitoring stations, andthe establishment of detailed requirements for the system. A breadboard design concept will also be developed during this phase. A final report will describe the activities and results of the Phase I effort, and will attempt to justify funding of Phases IIand III, leading to the delivery of production MESAT units. As it has become clear in the last decade that the United States and its possessions, infrastructure, assets, and military installati