Chinese Journal of Polar Research ›› 2026, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (1): 52-62.DOI: 10.13679/j.jdyj.20240071

Previous Articles     Next Articles

Application of BNU-1 satellite in remote sensing mapping of Greeland

ZHAO Tiancheng1,2, ZHANG Ying1, ZHANG Sishi1, LIU Xuying3, ZHANG Baogang1, HE Jiahuan4   

  1. 1State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Faculty of Geographical Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;
    2 School of Environmental Science, Nanjing Xiaozhuang University, Nanjing 210038, China;
    3 Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing 312000, China;
    4Ecological and Agrometeorological Center of Hulunbuir Meteorological Bureau, Hulun Buir 021008, China
  • Received:2024-07-31 Revised:2024-11-17 Online:2026-03-31 Published:2026-04-27

Abstract:

BNU-1 is China’s first low-cost remote sensing satellite specifically designed for monitoring polar environmental changes. It is also the first experimental satellite of the Three Poles Scientific Experiment. The satellite adopts a unique combination of temporal and spatial resolutions, and utilizes on-orbit variable exposure imaging technology to address the challenges posed by high albedo and dynamic imaging characteristics in polar regions, giving it an advantage in polar environmental monitoring. In this study, based on remote sensing data from BNU-1 acquired in 2020 and 2021 over Greenland, a segmentation stretching techniques was applied to create two mosaic mapping of whole Greenland. Compared to commonly used linear stretching methods, this approach demonstrates superior visual effects and more grayscale levels, better preserving surface feature information while effectively highlighting various land features in polar imagery. With a geometric resolution of 80 m for both datasets, these annually high-resolution remote sensing data provide a new attempt using domestically developed low-cost remote sensing satellites for studying environmental changes in Greenland.

Key words: BNU-1, polar remote sensing, mapping of Greenland, segmentation stretching