China's national science think tank said on Wednesday it would
establish a key scientific center for earth observation that would
develop geomatics technologies, which are increasingly important in
the country's development.
Geomatics technologies have been widely applied in several areas
of China's development, such as energy and resources, environment,
oceanic and weather observation and city planning, said Jiang
Mianheng, vice-president of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
Geomatics describes activities formerly known as surveying,
mapping and the like.
The center will also build a national platform on remote
sensing, taking the technology to a new level, Jiang said.
"Our goal is to build an internationally-renowned research
center on earth observation and digital earth technologies and to
meet key needs of China's development," the center's director Guo
Huadong said.
The center will include a receiving station for
earth-observation data, which, upon completion, will be able to
receive 70 percent of the satellite data of the Asian
continent.
Geomatics is expected to be one of the three top scientific
disciplines of the 21st century, along with nanotechnology and
biological science.
(Xinhua News Agency November 22, 2007)
