SPC Geoscience Division

SOPAC has introduced a navigational positioning service into the region that could make a major contribution in improving the safety of lakes, rivers and the ocean, according to Robert Smith, SOPAC’s Senior Advisor Marine Geophysics, SOPAC is a division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).

Mr Smith said that the service is called MarineSTAR and utilizes a combination of more than 50 satellites, permanently located base stations and a small transmitter/receiver computer called a Rover, that when operated together, can ensure pinpoint accuracy of a location within 10 centimetres.