A 24-member team of researchers on a mission to
re-measure the world’s highest peak reached the summit on Sunday,
erecting a survey beacon and a GPS (global positioning system)
monitoring station for measurements over the next two days and in
the future.
"Determination of Mount Qomolangma's height has an
important bearing on our lives," said Zhang Yanping, chief director
of the mission, "What attracts people's attention is not only the
height of the peak, but also changes in its height and geological
changes in the area, which will have a great impact on the global
biosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere."
This is the second Chinese endeavor to measure the
mountain, also known as Mount Everest, in the past three decades.
The first, in 1975, found the height to be 8,848.13 meters above
sea level.
This time, they also used a radar device to detect
the thickness of snow and ice so that it may be excluded from the
height measurement.
The GPS and radar device should provide a more
precise result, though the traditional trigonometric leveling
method used in the last expedition is still being used for
comparison.
The team started its final climb at 3:30 AM from a
camp 8,300 meters above sea level and reached the top at around
11:08 AM, braving strong gales and temperatures as low as minus
29.6 degrees Centigrade. They began their descent at 12:25 PM.
This stage of the mission was postponed several
times from the original planned date of May 5 to May 22 due to bad
weather conditions.
"Results will provide important data for the study
of crust movements and for other geoscience studies," Chen Bangzhu,
head of the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, said in a
congratulatory message to the team.
The ongoing survey is part of China's fourth
large-scale comprehensive scientific survey on Qomolangma, jointly
organized by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the State
Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, and the government of Tibet
Autonomous Region.
Scientists will also conduct research on the impact
of global warming on glaciers and make observations of atmospheric
physics and chemistry, biodiversity and environmental changes in
the Himalayan region, said Zhang Jiangqi, a CAS researcher.
A monument will be erected at the mountain's base
camp to mark the current measurement efforts. The final result is
expected to be announced in August.
(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 3005)