Abstract:
Geological disasters are widespread and pose significant threats to human life and safety. With advancements in science and technology and the continual development of national emergency management systems, satellite navigation technology has played an increasing vital role in geological disaster monitoring, early warning, and emergency response due to its global coverage and high-precision positioning capabilities. As a satellite navigation system independently developed, constructed, and operated by China, the Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) has demonstrated growing potential and advantages in its application in this field. Currently, BDS achieves millimeter-level accuracy in monitoring geological deformations, comparable to that of GPS. In obstructed environments, its positioning accuracy even surpasses GPS. Its data communication capabilities, including both data transmission and processing, offer advantages such as real-time responsiveness, rapid transfer, and comprehensive coverage without communication blind zones. In emergency rescues, BDS enables satellite communication, emergency communication network construction, location sharing and monitoring, emergency broadcasting services, and remote medical assistance. By integrating sensors for monitoring surface deformation, groundwater levels, underground stress, and other related parameters, or by combining InSAR and optical remote sensing technologies, BDS can significantly enhance the timeliness and precision of geological disaster monitoring, early warning, and emergency rescue. Notably, BDS has been successfully applied in early warning and monitoring efforts for the Shimen landslide in Changde (Hunan), the Baige landslide in the Jinsha river, and for deformation monitoring along major railways such as the Beijing-Zhangjiakou and Lanzhou-Xinjiang railways. Despite existing challenges, such as limited observational data and lagging data processing algorithms, the continued advancement of artificial intelligence technologies is expected to promote broader and more intelligent applications of BDS in geological disaster prevention, mitigation, and emergency response.