What is it like to conduct scientific research in Antarctica?

On January 4, at Zhongshan Station in Antarctica, more than 10,000 kilometers away from the motherland, Quan Ronghui, a member of the 37th Chinese Antarctic Expedition, successfully completed all scientific research tasks, ended more than a year of life in Antarctica, and set off for home.

my country has achieved fruitful results in Antarctic scientific research, which is inseparable from the hard work of the scientific expedition team members. What is it like to conduct scientific research in Antarctica? On January 5, the reporter connected with Quan Ronghui to listen to his real Antarctic scientific research life.

Quan Ronghui (second from left) takes a group photo with some team members. File photo

“Repairing equipment has become a daily routine”

On November 10, 2020, the 37th Chinese Antarctic Expedition organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources departed from Shanghai on the Xuelong 2. As the director of the Institute of Space Science and Technology, School of Astronautics, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Quan Ronghui relied on the International Meridian Space Station scientific program to go to Antarctica to explore related issues of space physics and space science. In this Antarctic expedition mission, he was mainly responsible for the space environment observation tasks such as the high-altitude atmosphere of Zhongshan Station, and was responsible for the operation, data processing and maintenance of multiple sets of space environment observation equipment such as high-frequency radar.

Many people think that Antarctica is covered with glaciers and should be very humid. But in fact, "In addition to being very cold, the Antarctic climate is also very dry." Quan Ronghui said that the harsh climate environment can also cause equipment failures, so repairing equipment has become a common occurrence. He said that there are also many difficulties in repairing equipment. "Sometimes some hardware is missing. Antarctica is not like China, where we can buy it in time. We can only look for suitable parts everywhere. If there are no parts, we can only think of other ways."

Quan Ronghui recalled that when he first arrived at Zhongshan Station, a high-frequency radar had a major fault and needed to replace the motherboard. After the replacement, he found that the CPU was gone. In order to solve this problem, he removed a CPU from another computer and thought of installing it on the high-frequency radar, but there was a lack of silicone grease during installation (used between the back of the CPU and the fan, mainly for bonding and heat dissipation). "At that time, the radar spare parts were missing. I looked for supplies for other mission systems on the station but couldn't find it. Finally, I found the last small tube left with the network electronics engineer." The radar's operating system is also different from the domestic Windows system, and it needs to be re-learned before the relevant parameters of the experiment can be adjusted. "So the challenge is still quite big," Quan Ronghui said with a smile.

In addition to the occasional "strikes" of equipment, field surveys often face the test of changeable weather. Quan Ronghui encountered several weather emergencies during field surveys. Once, he went to a place two hours away from the station to install equipment. Halfway through the journey, the weather changed from cloudy to overcast, and soon the wind blew and light snow fell. "We decided to return immediately. As soon as we arrived at the station, the weather turned into heavy snow and strong winds, and visibility was almost zero. If we made a wrong decision at that time, we might get lost and unable to return, and encounter greater dangers, such as falls, freezing, etc. Therefore, we usually have to check the weather forecast before going into the field, and travel with multiple people." Quan Ronghui said.

Quan Ronghui (first from left) works with his team members. File photo

The nights are long and the temperature is bone-chilling, "The bitterness here is actually very sweet"

Long dark nights, bone-chilling cold, empty snowfields, and rare species... What is daunting about Antarctica is not only the harsh natural environment, but also the tremendous mental pressure that extreme conditions put on people. But in Quan Ronghui's view, "the bitterness here is actually sweet."

"We all know that in China, the deeper the crevices or caves are, the darker they are. But on the Antarctic ice sheet, the crevices are nearly 100 meters deep. When people look down from above, they can see a blue light underneath, but when they dig the ice up, they find it is transparent. This 'blue ice phenomenon' is quite magical." When Quan Ronghui and his team go out to climb valleys, they often see strange rocks that look like flowers, arches, and worm-eaten rocks.

In addition to scientific research, there are many other activities during his more than one year in Antarctica. "With its unique terrain and climate, Antarctica is a natural ski resort." The place where Quan Ronghui used for observation is located on a high ground near Zhongshan Station. In addition to skiing, climbing mountains during his daily patrols is also a unique way for him to exercise in Antarctica.

The second floor of Zhongshan Station is a recreation area, including a large conference room, a medical clinic, a gymnasium and a restaurant. Quan Ronghui likes to play table tennis, and often plays with two or three friends in his spare time. In a table tennis competition held at Zhongshan Station, Quan Ronghui won the third place and received two Antarctic notebooks.

Quan Ronghui also has another identity in the station - the librarian of Zhongshan Station. He said that most of the books in the Zhongshan Station library were donated, and some were brought by the team members. "The original library was already full of books, so my teammates and I set up another one."

Quan Ronghui introduced that the Antarctic diet is diverse and unique, with chefs at the chef level and ingredients purchased from all over the world. "In the early stage of the expedition, the food was very rich. But after half a year, the only ingredients we brought were onions, potatoes, and yams, which are long-lasting vegetables. Vegetables are very precious at this time, but we have a greenhouse for growing vegetables here, and we may eat green vegetables such as Chinese cabbage and cucumbers once every two or three weeks."

"This time capsule contains my deep attachment to it"

What is Antarctica? There are a thousand different answers from a thousand people. But what remains unchanged is the attachment to Antarctica and the unique feeling they have for it.

Having overcome numerous challenges, Quan Ronghui has gained a lot in scientific research. He has obtained about 63TB of observation data in his work, serving multiple national research projects, the National Natural Science Foundation, and international cooperative research projects such as China-Japan, China-US, and China-Norway. In terms of the scheduling and execution of the Meridian Project, he has participated in the launch support mission of the Chang'e 5 probe, the launch support mission of the Tianhe core module of the space station, the solar activity event detection plan, and the large-area multi-station joint detection plan of the sudden metal layer and the thermosphere metal layer.

During the one year of Antarctic scientific expedition, Quan Ronghui did not give up his original job. As the director of the Institute of Space Science and Technology of the School of Astronautics of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a graduate student supervisor, he would hold 1 to 2 telephone conferences at irregular intervals every week to supervise the learning progress of graduate students and the progress of related work in the institute.

"Although I was very excited when I first arrived in Antarctica, when I saw the helicopter that was carrying us away evacuating, I still felt lonely inside because I was more than 10,000 kilometers away from home." Quan Ronghui told reporters that he would contact his family 2 to 3 times a week.

Talking about this Antarctic expedition, Quan Ronghui has many feelings and gains. "I can clearly feel the growing strength of our motherland," Quan Ronghui said. "The conditions in the station are getting better and better. There are not only multifunctional rooms, but also rich food. Winter support and communication facilities are becoming more and more complete."

"At Zhongshan Station, we also felt the power of the collective. In addition to professional work, the team members must also participate in collective labor, such as unloading, material handling and classification, helping in the kitchen, etc., and also handle difficult work in various positions together." Quan Ronghui told reporters that the 700 kg cable laying work of the altimeter he was responsible for was done by all the station members together. "With everyone's mutual help, the difficulties encountered can be quickly solved."

Now, Quan Ronghui is on his way back home. His deep attachment to Antarctica has given him a strong sense of protection. "Antarctica is the only clean holy land that has not been developed by humans. When we do scientific research, we should also protect it, not destroy it." Quan Ronghui said that Antarctica may carry the future destiny of the earth, "This time capsule contains my deep attachment to it."

Source: Guangming Daily (Page 07, January 6, 2022)

Guangming Daily reporter Cui Xingyi Guangming Daily correspondent Liu Yawen