The National Consortium on Remote Sensing in Transportation-Environmental Assessments

The National Consortium on Remote Sensing in Transportation-Environmental Assessments (NCRST-E) is one of four consortia established by NASA and the US Department of Transportation. to lead in the application of remote sensing and geospatial technologies in the transportation industry. The primary mission of the Consortium for Environmental Assessment is to develop and promote the use of remote sensing & geospatial technologies, and requisite analysis products by transportation decision-makers and environmental assessment specialists to measure, monitor, and assess environmental conditions in relation to transportation infrastructure. The consortium is composed of university (Mississippi State University, Auburn University, University of Alabama in Huntsville, University of Mississippi), government (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and Global Hydrology and Climate Center), and commercial (Intermap Technologies, Inc, & EarthWatch Incorporated) partners. The purpose of this paper is to increase the awareness of the remote sensing community of this new consortium and its mission and goals aimed at a better utilization of geospatial technologies for planning an environmentally sound transportation infrastructure