Chinese scientists claimed to have developed a system to monitor the movement of the Earth’s crust and predict earthquakes.
The new system will be based on satellite navigation involving a network of 260 constant observing stations and 2,000 part-time observing stations with data-processing technology, according to the officials of the China Earthquake Administration said.
The new system will be used for weather forecasting and scientific research, among other purposes.
The 35 experts in charge of the project agreed that the outcome is a comprehensive, precise and versatile geoscientific resource, and that its information should be shared, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The new network joins the US’ Plate Boundary Observation system and Japan’s GEONE as the most advanced means of observing the movement of the Earth’s crust, it said.
China started the project in December of 2007, with a total investment of 524 million yuan ($83.2 million) and it was jointly carried out by official bodies including the China Earthquake Administration, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation.