A Chinese research team will leave for Antarctica aboard Xue
Long (Snow Dragon) on November 12, and the country's third research
station on the icy continent will be completed in two years, polar
research experts said yesterday.
Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC) Director Qu Tanzhou
said a team of 188 researchers, scientists, professionals and crew
members would leave on the Antarctica research mission from
Shanghai.
"This is the largest Chinese team for Antarctica after the first
one in 1984," he said. The research team will stay there for about
150 days.
Qu said a big team, which will be divided into three groups, is
being sent to the continent because a series of challenging tasks
have to be completed.
One group will work on projects to renovate the two existing
stations of Changcheng (Great Wall) and Zhongshan. The second group
will carry out preliminary work on building a third research
station on Dome A, the highest plateau on the continent. The third
will be engaged in research projects on board Xue Long.
PRIC Deputy Director Qin Weijia said: "It's the largest ever
renovation project for the two stations." Work will first start to
repair Changcheng Station, built on King George Island on 1,000
square meters in 1985. After renovation, it will occupy 1,700
square meters and will have more modern facilities for research and
observation.
"Changcheng's warehouse will be equipped with advanced porting
machines after the renovation." Qin said the Zhongshan Station,
too, will be expanded from 2,500 square meters to 3,000 square
meters, and will have state-of-the-art equipment.
The team's Dome A project leader Sun Bo said: "According to the
plan, construction of the third research station in Antarctica will
be finished in two years and it is a very challenging job because
it will be on Dome A."
Temperatures on the ice sheet's highest plateau drop to - 90 C
and it has for long been considered "unapproachable". So the team
will first conduct preparatory work such as boiling water and
observing the atmosphere.
(China Daily November 7, 2007)