Src: Marine Engineering Environment & Geomatic Center (FIO) 

The National Science and Technology Award Conference was held by the Central Committee of CPC and the State Council on January 8 in Beijing. Chinese senior leaders Xi Jinping, LI keqiang, ZHANG gaoli and WANG huning attended the conference and presented winners with awards. The project “National Mapping and Surveying Key Technologies and Applications of Islands and Reefs”, which joined by FIO, received the second prize of National Scientific and Technological Progress Award.

This project, relying on the National and MOST Major Projects and led by Chinese Academy of Surveying and Mapping, is jointly finished by National Geomatics Center of China, FIO, Marine Surveying and Mapping Institute of the People's Liberation Army Navy, Chinese People's Liberation Army 61206 Troops, and Wuhan University. As the leading researcher of SOA’s part in the project, ZHOU Xinghua from Marine Engineering Environment & Geomatic Center of FIO ranks No.5 in the winners list.

This project has made a number of original scientific and technological achievements on islands/reefs surveying and mapping and intellectual property; developed independently a batch of new surveying and mapping software and hardware equipment; initiated the “space-air-land-sea” integrated system for surveying and mapping; established for the first time in China the land-sea unified national standard for islands/reefs surveying and mapping in 3 million km2 sea area; and made first accurate positioning for more than 10000 Chinese islands/reefs and large scale digital mapping for 5000 crucial islands. Being an important technological and application innovation in islands/reefs surveying and mapping and National Projects, this project makes a big step for China to obtain geomatic information from land to sea. The outcomes of this project are widely used by over 100 coastal provinces and cities to create socioeconomic benefits in safeguarding national sovereignty and maritime rights/interests, boosting marine economy, managing islands and reefs, protecting eco-environment, and ensuring the safety of maritime transportation.