China to invest in Earth monitoring system

China says it will invest $81 million to build a national network to monitor movement in the Earth's crust and for other Earth sciences in the next four years. The program will use more than 3,000 technicians to build a three-dimensional and dynamic "geodetic" network with high precision, the country's National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation announced Tuesday. 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, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. The network will ensure people can get timely geodetic information for any point in the country's land area, surveying administration Deputy Directory Li Weisen said. China lags behind developed countries in terms of surveying and mapping technologies. While the United States' "geoid" determination network can reach an accuracy of 1 inch, China can only determine geoid at an accuracy of 1 foot in its eastern part and 2 feet in its western region, Xinhua said.