Space Information Services Safeguard Chinese Ships in Arctic

BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese researchers used remote sensing and model forecast data to help Chinese merchant ships Tian'en and Tianyou safely navigate the Northeast Passage of Arctic this summer.

The stretch in the Arctic is the shortest passage connecting northeast Asia and northern Europe and can save a third of the traditional sailing time.

Ships can sail in the Arctic during summer when sea ice formation is not high. In spite of this, there are potential risks for ships.

The high spatial and temporal resolution microwave radar sensors with all-day and all-weather monitoring capability can observe near-real-time sea ice conditions for predicting risks.

The researchers from the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences figured out the automatic method of satellite remote sensing data processing, as well as algorithms for deriving sea ice and ocean dynamics parameters.

The researchers provided digital services in seven types of data including wind field, sea ice cover and sea ice concentration for the ships.

The Arctic navigation security service is a successful application of remote sensing data and enhanced space information observation ability in ensuring shipping safety.

The Tian'en departed from China for Europe this summer, while the Tianyou is scheduled to arrive in China by the end of August.