Exploring the poles for 80,000 miles and crossing three oceans: What tremendous changes has China’s polar survey development undergone?

01 Introduction to the Polar Regions

The Arctic region is mainly located north of the Arctic Circle , including most of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Asia, Europe and North America around it. The terrain is dominated by the Arctic Ocean , and there are many land and islands nearby, mainly Greenland, Svalbard, Franz Josef Archipelago, Novaya Zemlya, Severnaya Zemlya, New Siberian Islands, Victoria Island, Parry Islands, Baffin Island, Devon Island, Ellesmere Island, etc. The Arctic is about 1,200 meters deep and is the shallowest sea in the world . Although the Arctic is not as cold as the Antarctic, most of the area is also frozen all year round . The precipitation in the Arctic is much higher than that in the Antarctic, and the annual precipitation is generally between 100 and 250 mm. The wind speed in the Arctic is far less than that in the Antarctic. The annual average wind speed along the Arctic Ocean is only 10 meters per second.

The Antarctic region is mainly located south of the Antarctic Circle , including Antarctica and its surrounding seas . The average elevation of the Antarctic continent is about 1,500 meters, and the terrain is mainly plateaus , including Queen Maud Land, Wilkes Land, Victoria Land, Marie Byrd Land, Ellsworth Land, Antarctic Peninsula, Roosevelt Island, Berkner Island, Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctic Plateau, etc. The Antarctic continent is almost covered by huge continental glaciers, and the average thickness of the ice layer is about 1,700 meters, and the thickest place is as high as 2,800 meters. The ice here accounts for about 90% of the world's total , which is about 10 to 8 times the amount of Arctic sea ice. If all the ice in Antarctica melts and flows into the sea, the global sea level will rise by 60 to 80 meters. In addition to the severe cold, the Antarctic region is also known as the "white desert" on Earth , with an average annual precipitation of 55 mm, and the lowest precipitation being less than 5 mm. The Antarctic region is also known as the "wind reservoir" on Earth , with an average annual wind speed of 17 to 18 m/s and a maximum wind speed of up to 100 m/s.

02 my country's polar research vessels

Xue Long

The Xuelong is China's largest polar research vessel , capable of sailing in the harsh polar climate. It is equipped with advanced navigation, positioning and autopilot systems, and has a variety of facilities that can transport a variety of different items, including hangars, helipads and Yellow River boats. In addition, the Xuelong also has a variety of scientific research laboratories that can carry out research in the fields of atmosphere, hydrology, biology, geology and meteorology. The ship is also equipped with a large number of instruments and equipment, such as fish finders, Doppler current meters and "CTD", which can be used to measure different parameters in order to detect polar waters.

Other ships:

"Xiang Yang Hong 10". In 1984, China carried out its first Antarctic expedition using "Xiang Yang Hong 10" , an ordinary ship with a full load displacement of 13,000 tons and no icebreaking capability.

"Polar". In 1986, China began to use the "Polar" scientific research vessel for Antarctic expeditions. After completing six Antarctic expedition missions, it was retired in 1994.

03 Introduction to the scientific research station and its observation tasks

Antarctic Great Wall Station: The Great Wall Station is located on the Fildes Peninsula of George Island. The Great Wall Station is backed by a snowy hillside with abundant water resources. The terrain here is open, and the mudflat is about 2,000 meters long and more than 300 meters wide. It is a penguin nature reserve, a bird nature reserve, a whale reserve, and a plant and fossil reserve. Here, you can see large areas of yellow-green lichens and mosses in summer, which is an ideal place for scientists to conduct investigations. Routine observations of meteorology, ionosphere, upper atmospheric physics, geomagnetism and earthquakes are carried out at the Great Wall Station throughout the year. During the Antarctic summer every year, in addition to routine observations, field scientific investigations including geology, geomorphology, geophysics, glaciology, biology, environmental science, human medicine and marine science are also carried out.

Zhongshan Station in Antarctica: It is named after Mr. Sun Yat-sen, the great pioneer of China's democratic revolution. Zhongshan Station is located on the Westoden Peninsula in the Larsmann Hills of Princess Elizabeth Land in East Antarctica. It is located on the coast of the Antarctic continent. The changes in meteorological elements here are quite different from those of the Great Wall Station. It is colder and drier than the Great Wall Station, and has more Antarctic polar climate characteristics. It can carry out meteorological, ionosphere, upper atmospheric physics, geomagnetism and earthquake observations.

Kunlun Station in Antarctica: China's first inland Antarctic research station, Kunlun Station is located at 80 degrees 25 minutes 01 seconds south latitude, 77 degrees 06 minutes 58 seconds east longitude, 4087 meters above sea level, about 7.3 kilometers southwest of Dome A, the highest point of the Antarctic inland ice sheet. The establishment of Kunlun Station has enabled scientific research stations to be built at the four most geographically valuable points in Antarctica. It can observe astronomy, carry out scientific research in the fields of glaciology, astronomy, geology, geophysics, atmospheric science, space physics, etc., implement scientific investigations and research such as glacier deep ice core scientific drilling plans, subglacial mountain drilling, satellite remote sensing data reception, human medicine research and medical security research.

Taishan Station in Antarctica: This is the fourth scientific research station built by China in Antarctica. It is located in Princess Elizabeth Land between Zhongshan Station and Kunlun Station. It is a relay station with an altitude of about 2,621 meters. It can accommodate 20 people for summer research. The total construction area is 1,000 square meters and the service life is 15 years. It is equipped with an ice and snow runway for fixed-wing aircraft. It is a summer station for inland Antarctic research.

Arctic Yellow River Station: China's Arctic Yellow River Station is located in Ny-Ålesund, Spitsbergen, Norway, at 78°55′N, 11°56′E. It has created a permanent scientific research platform for my country in the Arctic, which provides extremely favorable conditions for solving the mysteries of many disciplines such as space physics and space environment detection. The Arctic Yellow River Station has the largest space physics observation point in the world's polar scientific research.

04 International Cooperation

At the beginning of reform and opening up, my country knew very little about Antarctica. In the late 1970s, more than a dozen countries had established hundreds of research stations in Antarctica, but none of them belonged to China. In the 40 years of reform and opening up, from the initial Antarctic Office with only five staff members, to now a scientific research team with complete categories, complete systems and basic stability; from no ships, no routes and no research stations to the current "one ship, five stations, one base and one plane"; from no voting rights to hosting the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Countries Meeting as the host... my country's polar cause has achieved leapfrog development.

China's Antarctic Station from scratch

Since 1983, China has been actively participating in Antarctic scientific research and established its first Antarctic research station, the Great Wall Station. Subsequently, Zhongshan Station, Kunlun Station and Taishan Station were established. Zhongshan Station has become the focus of China's Antarctic research and has carried out larger-scale scientific research and studies. Kunlun Station is China's first research station built in the interior of Antarctica, achieving a leap from the edge to the interior. Taishan Station, as a transit station, has further expanded the scope of scientific research activities. In 2018, on Endersberg Island in Antarctica, the site selection and foundation laying ceremony of China's fifth Antarctic research station was held, opening a new journey for China to participate in Antarctic global governance.

Antarctic expedition yields fruitful results

On May 23, 2017, China hosted the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting for the first time. During the meeting, the Chinese government released the report "China's Antarctic Affairs", reviewing the development achievements of my country's Antarctic affairs over the past 30 years. In the field of Antarctic glaciology and solid earth science observation, China has completed comprehensive observation and research from Zhongshan Station to Kunlun Station, established a deep ice core drilling system, and obtained important information on climate change. In addition, Chinese scientists have achieved fruitful results in the fields of geological survey and research, atmospheric science, and marine science. China has published a large number of papers in the field of Antarctic scientific research and published many important papers in international journals, achieving breakthroughs in the field of Antarctic scientific research.

Arctic expeditions that came later

my country started its Arctic expedition relatively late, but has already reached international standards. Since 1999, China has conducted eight Arctic expeditions and established the Yellow River Station as my country's first Arctic scientific research station. Through a comprehensive investigation of the interaction between the Arctic Ocean, sea ice and atmosphere, my country has obtained a large amount of valuable data and samples. This provides important information for future research on environmental changes, ecology and climate effects in the Arctic Ocean region, and also lays the foundation for studying Arctic climate variability and its impact on my country's climate.

The establishment of the Yellow River Station completes the initial layout of my country's North and South Poles research stations, demonstrating China's position as a major polar research power. China has officially joined the International Arctic Science Committee and become a special observer state of the Arctic Council. Through cooperation with Arctic countries, China has made positive contributions to promoting the improvement of Arctic scientific research and achieving sustainable development of Arctic resources. With the advancement of my country's "Belt and Road" and "Ice Silk Road" initiatives, the cooperation space between China and Nordic countries in the Arctic field will be further expanded.

As a responsible major country, China plays an increasingly important role in international polar affairs. As a consultative party to the Antarctic Treaty and a formal observer of the Arctic Council, China has made important contributions to global polar governance, providing "Chinese wisdom" and "Chinese power." Although China is a latecomer, it is by no means behind in the field of polar exploration.

Cooperation in recent years

China's 40th Antarctic expedition departed from China on November 1, 2023 and returned in April 2024, lasting more than five months.

During the 40th Antarctic scientific expedition, China plans to carry out cooperative research in the frontier areas of international Antarctic science, including implementing the Enderby Land aerial survey mission in cooperation with Norway, Australia and other countries, to explore the ice-sea-bedrock interaction in the grounding zone of the Antarctic ice sheet, a key data blank area, and support the precise assessment of the ice sheet material balance and instability research; and carry out international cooperation in logistics support with the United States, Britain, Australia, Italy, South Korea, Russia, Chile and other countries.

Under the BRICS cooperation framework, China actively participates in polar scientific research cooperation. In November 2023, Chinese representatives attended the fifth meeting of the BRICS "Ocean and Polar Science" thematic field working group held in Cape Town, South Africa, and explained the BRICS marine and polar field project cooperation, platform construction, joint voyages, participation in the "Ocean Decade" and other aspects, put forward suggestions for the next step of cooperation, and are committed to creating a model of BRICS cooperation in the field of marine and polar science.

The International Symposium on Auroral Physics (ISAP) was successfully held at the China Ice Station from October 2 to 6, 2023. Members of the space physics research team of the China Polar Research Center (China Polar Research Institute) attended the meeting. Representatives from domestic universities and institutions such as Peking University, Southern University of Science and Technology, University of Hong Kong, Beihang University, Shandong University, Xidian University, as well as representatives from international academic institutions such as the Institute of Science at the University of Iceland, the Helmholtz Center for Geosciences in Germany, the University of Potsdam in Germany, the South African National Space Agency, the University of Bergen in Norway, and US government scientific assessment personnel attended the meeting and conducted academic exchanges.

From May 25 to 26, 2023, Ocean University of China held the Second International Symposium on Polar Oceans and Global Change in Qingdao. More than 270 participants from 27 domestic universities, research institutions and 16 foreign universities and research institutes gathered at the Huanghai Hotel and in the cloud to discuss academic frontiers. Vice President Liu Yong attended the meeting.

The Polar Science Asia Forum was jointly organized and initiated by polar research institutions in China, Japan and South Korea in Shanghai in May 2004. It aims to strengthen cooperation and exchanges among Asian countries in polar scientific exploration and research and enhance the international status of Asian countries in polar scientific exploration and research. From March 3 to 4, 2021, the Polar Science Asia Forum 2021 Annual Scientific Seminar was held in video form. Nearly 50 experts and scholars from China, Japan, South Korea, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, Turkey, Egypt, Sri Lanka and other countries attended the meeting.