Geospatial Intelligence Assessment Detailing the Washington DC Metro Station and the Power Stations - Essay Example

DEVELOP A GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE (GEOINT) ASSESSMENT DETAILING THE WASHINTON D.C. METRO SATATION AND THE POWER STATIONS Course Date 1.What are the most likely approaches to the D.C. power stations and why? The North Power Station The challenge of terrorism is a critical security threat that must be dealt with promptly. The available SIGINT and HUMINT among other intelligence reports are categorically significant in the formulation of the terrorism attack just about to be launched by the militia group of the Al-Shabaab. The approaches to the North power Station of the Washington D.C. are formulated as listed below to curb any possible leeway to the power station by the terrorist attack. The East Capitol Street Among the very busy within the vicinity of the great city of Washington is the East Capitol Street. It’s always heavy with traffic and it connects to the northwards to Kenilworth Avenue leading to the North Power Station. This street of Eat Capitol being among the major streets of the United States Capitol divide the southeast and northeast quadrants of Washington, D.C. it covers the United States Capitol running eastwards to the DC-Maryland border. For the purpose of security surveillance the East Capitol is a street to keep an eye on by the security intelligence as this busy street can be used by the terrorists in their line of mission of movement towards their destination which is the North Power Station or an obstruction in that street would cause delays by the security agents in providing safety at times of terrorism attacks, and so it constitute a major approach point to the North Power Station1. Kenilworth Avenue Another closer connecting avenue to the north Power plant is the Kenilworth Avenue. The Kenilworth Avenue connects the classy Kenilworth Park-a real estate within Washington D.C. This street slopes downwards to the south of the Great Capitol past the North power plant. An avenue such as Kenilworth is critical and sensitive to security alarming as it occupied with ever traffic and connects very vital premises, estates among other ventures along its path. It becomes an approach route to the north power station and should be monitored in the event of the suspicious leakages of information of planned terrorist attack of the plant. Hyattsville This is another approach to the north power plant. Hyattsville is a city within Prince George’s County, Maryland. It is an urban suburb that is so close with Washington D.C. the city have a network of connection to the Washington D.C. through the Prince George’s Plaza and West Hyattsville metro stations leading to the Metro Subway system’s Green Line3. The vibrant city of Hyattsville is an approach to the North power plant and can offer a breeding space for the terrorists if not vigilantly watched over. The South Power Station Alexandria The independent city of Alexandra within the Commonwealth Virginia is approximately six miles from the south of downtown of Washington, D.C. and thus becomes an immediate approach to the South Power Plant. Just like the central Maryland and the rest of Northern Virginia, the modern Alexandria is shaped by its proximity to the United Nation’s Capital city. The city of Alexandria is largely populated with professionals employed in the U.S. military, federal civil service or in the various private companies . Among the largest employers of the Alexandria is the United States Department of Defense. Others include the Centre for Naval Analyses and Institute for Defense Analyses. The city of Alexandria is by no doubt an approach point to the North power station and its security vigilance is crucial as it hold the employing base of the U.S. Department of Defence4. The Frederick Douglass Bridge The South Capitol Street Bridge or the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge is the swing bridge that carries the South Capitol Street over the Anacostial River in the United States Capital, Washington D.C. it is one of the busiest linking bridges in Washington D.C. as it was rated to be used by seventy seven thousand commuters every day. The southern of the Frederick Douglass Bridge connects with the Interstate 295 and the Suitland Parkway and hence provides accessibility to downtown via those routes as well as from the street of South Capitol and the roads connecting to it. The Potomac Avenue SW connects the bridge with the South Power station and thus an approach point to the station and a security watchdog is very vital at the bridge since if its tampered with will cause movement difficulties. Suitland-Silver Hill, Maryland Another point of approach is the Suitland-Silver Hill. This was a census designated place (CDP) within the Prince George’s Country, Maryland, about a mile southeast of Washington, D.C. The Suitland being just a mile away from the south of the U.S. capitol where the South power plant is located is a convenient route for connection with the plant5. 2.Which points along the D.C. Metro track system are likely targets and why?  The Stadium Armory The Stadium Armory is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). It serves the Orange and Blue Lines. The Stadium Armory station can be of target has it holds a lot of wealth and other crucial institutions. The station a part from serving the D.C. United soccer team which is the RFK Stadium it has entrances on the 29th street at C Street and also the Independence Avenue. The station is likely of target as it serves again the D.C. jail and the D.C. Armory and the terrorist may consider this station of target as its destruction may limit the operation of the D.C. security agents and since it serves the D.C. armory destroying it would limit access to the warring deadly weapons kept in the armory for back-up strategies in case of emergencies. Navy Yard Ballpark This is a Washington Metro Station in Washington, D.C. within the Green Line. This station is located in the Navy Yard with entrances on the M Street at Half Street and the New Jersey Avenue. The station connects the Nationals Park. The neighborhood of the Navy Yard Ballpark is spurred by rapid growth due to very vibrant ventures in the construction of the Nationals Park and the USDoT office complex together with the New US$ 600 million stadium of the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball team. The highly growing neighborhood as a result of the facilitation of the Navy Yard Ballpark station can be of the terrorist attach has it holds ventures of billions of shillings and its destruction can be of great loss in financial breakdown and economic aspects in general. The Grosvenor-Strathmore The station connects with business and recreational facilities that are gathering points of people for events among other forms of entertaining. The station is actually the western terminus of Red Line. The Music Center at Strathmore is opened adjacent to the station that constitutes gathering places for music1al performances. The station and the Arts Complex are connected via a raised pedestrian walkway, that is, the Sky Bridge of Carlton R. Sickles Memorial. Underground walkway and escalators are also added to the station to enable customers easily cross the busy road, Rockville Pike, which is adjacent to the Grosvenor-Strathmore station. This station can be of target as it holds a lot of activities and commercial ventures7. 3.In which D.C. police district do the power stations and likely metro stations lie, and what are the implications? The North power station lies in the Police District 6 The South power station lies in the Police District 7 The metro stations are likely to cover the police Districts of 1, 2, 3 and 5. The implications Each resident lives in a Police Service Area (PSA). Every PSA has a team composing of police officials and officers assigned to it. This ensures that there is maintenance of law and order within the District ‘s boundaries. Residents are supposed to know the particular station PSA team members and learn the best ways to work with them in curbing crime and disorder in their places of residence. This ensures that there is lawfulness in the boundaries of the districts by locals and even visitors. 4.What type of sensors, of any type, might be employed to provide warning of an attack on the metro stations and power stations? Spatially, where would they be emplaced? What are the limitations of remote sensing in this scenario? Ensure to be detailed when discussing the airborne, terrestrial, and space-based application. Airborne sensors For the case of airborne remote sensing, the downward or the sideward situated sensors are mounted on the aircraft so as to obtain images of the surface of the earth. The airborne remote sensing has advantage in comparison to satellite remote sensing as it offers very high spatial resolution images. It may not be cost-effective to cover a large area with the airborne remote sensing as it carries high cost of per unit area of ground coverage vis a vis a low coverage area.2 Terrestrial security sensors The significance of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) as a technology for remote monitoring is never limited to traditional terrestrial applications. The Wireless Underground Sensor Networks (WUSNs)are used to monitor the conditions of the soil so that the soil contents like the mineral contents, salinity, and temperature are maintained at optimal. For the security purposes the underground sensors are used to detect movement via vibration, pressure or sound. The military can use this for detecting any form of suspicious invaders8. Space-based Security Applications There provides for guidance on the acquisition, sustainment, operation and development of the modernization of the Global Positioning System among the U.S. facilities in ensuring effective navigation and timing signals.3 Limitations of remote sensing 1. The remote sensing equipment and structuring requirements are highly expensive to build, maintain and operate. 2. Cases of measurement uncertainty due large resolution is often coarse, that is, 88D pulse volume is over 1.5 kilometres wide at about 100km range from the radar satellites. 3. Using the remote sensing can make data interpretation not easy since there is need to have an understanding of the theoretical way the instrument is used in measurement and the necessity to know the measuring uncertainties9. Bibliography Chapin, Douglas M. Digital Instrumentation and Control Systems in Nuclear Power Plants: Safety and Reliability Issues. Washington, D.C: National Academy Press, 1995. Jasani, Bhupendra. Remote Sensing from Space: Supporting International Peace and Security. Dordrecht: Springer, 2009. Jones, Steven L. Urban Public Transportation Systems 2013: Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Urban Public Transportation Systems : November 17-20, 2013, Paris, France. Reston, Va: American Society of Civil Engineers, 2013. Metrorail Station Area Planning: A Metrorail Before-and-After Study Report. Washington, D.C: The Administration, 1984 Peris, Lopez P, Julio C. Hernandez-Castro, and Tieyan Li. Security and Trends in Wireless Identification and Sensing Platform Tags: Advancements in Rfid. Hershey, Pa: Information Science Reference, 2013 Xiao, George, and Wojtek J. Bock. Photonic Sensing: Principles and Applications for Safety and Security Monitoring. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2012.  Read More