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Chinese meteorologists have launched monitoring and evaluation services for winter wheat distribution across the country, based on remote sensing satellite technology. Monitoring accuracy has reached a resolution of 30 meters from space, and meteorological departments at the national, provincial, municipal and district levels have joined forces to promote such applications of satellite technology.
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The new satellite-powered service can solve previous problems of inaccuracy in weather forecasts for grain production, Zhang Mingwei, a research associate at the National Meteorological Satellite Center in charge of the project, told the Global Times on Tuesday. The satellite service would provide not only winter wheat distribution map and planting area data in different regions, but also dynamic reports of annual distribution changes, which would support summer grain production forecasts and assessment of impact of climate disasters, according to the Center.
The advancement of satellite technology and China's growing capabilities in satellite applications have made it possible to resolve the above problems. The Gaofen-6 satellite, the country's first high-precision agricultural observation satellite, not only has a resolution of up to 2 meters, but can also identify different crops [such as wheat and beans] based on their spectral characteristics, Zhang said. Gaofen-1 is another remote sensing satellite in the project, Zhang added.
Per: AGROLINK
