China to invest in Earth sciences monitoring

BEIJING - China is to invest 517 million yuan ($81.24 million) to build a modern national network to monitor movements in Earth's crust and other Earth sciences in the next four years, according to an announcement by the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation on Tuesday.

The program will mobilize more than 3,000 technicians nationwide to build a three-dimensional and dynamic "geodetic" network with high precision, according to the administration.

China lags far behind developed countries in terms of surveying and mapping technologies.

The US latest geoid determination network can reach an accuracy up to three to four centimeters, while China can only determine geoid at an accuracy of 30 cm in its eastern part and 60 cm in its western region.

The national geodetic network aims to build 360 Global Positioning System reference stations, and a satellite-geodesy control network consisting of 4,500 control points.

Deputy director of the administration Li Weisen said the network will ensure people can get timely geodetic information for any point in the country's land area.

The network should also offer better services for construction projects, natural disaster relief and mineral resources development.