Reporter s Notes: First impressions of the island of Enksburg

Mondo Tourism Updated on 2024-01-28

Xinhua News Agency, 10 Dec (Reporter Zhou Yuan) A few days ago, the "Snow Dragon 2" carrying out China's 40 th Antarctic expedition arrived in the Ross Sea, and a "Snow Eagle" ** rose from the stern of the ship and flew to Enksburg Island, where China's fifth Antarctic research station is located.

On December 8, the "Tianhui" ship was unloading the materials for building the station (drone**) Xinhua News Agency (photo by Wang Hainan).

Outside the cabin, the skyline is painted in gray and blue, and the snow-capped mountains and glaciers are outlined with a few brushstrokes. Underneath the fuselage, the Ross Sea spreads out with its field of vision, stopping abruptly ...... rows of red containers on the shoreAfter about half an hour of flight, we set foot on the southernmost continent in the world.

It's a land of vibrant coastlines, adorable penguins, laid-back seals and opportunistic skuasIt is also full of indescribable wild desolation, with gravel and cold winds.

Zhang Gonghao, the meteorological support officer of the "Snow Dragon 2" ship, introduced that the vicinity of Enksburg Island is the most prevalent area of the East Antarctic ice sheet downwind, accompanied by six or seven winds all year round, and the maximum wind speed has been measured to reach 43 per second5 meters.

Once upon a time, the power of seeking had dispelled desolation here.

The Ross Sea, where Enksburg Island is located, is a large bay in the South Pacific Ocean deep into Antarctica, and is one of the most accessible marginal seas of the Antarctic continent. More than 100 years ago, Amundsen, Scott and other Antarctic expedition pioneers chose to land in this sea area and challenge the South Pole. Bock Grewink, Bird and others also embarked on their journey to explore the Antarctic from here.

This sea area has a strong attraction for scientists. Sun Bo, Secretary of the Party Committee of the China Polar Research Center of the Ministry of Natural Resources, introduced that the Ross Sea area is like an "ice factory", which is an important source of sea ice in the entire Southern Ocean, and is also a key origin of Antarctic bottom water, with the characteristics of multi-sphere interaction of the earth system such as lithosphere, cryosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere.

Now, the power of inquiry is giving birth to a new research station.

After years of investigation and multi-party demonstration, China's fifth Antarctic research station settled on Enksburg Island on the west coast of the Ross Sea.

On December 8, the expedition team was setting up a large temporary building (drone**) Xinhua News Agency (photo by Wang Hainan).

Scientific value is undoubtedly an important supporting goal and a necessary factor for the site selection of the Antarctic research station. The architect of the new station congratulated the new station, which is adjacent to the Nansen Ice Shelf to the west and the perennial Terranova Bay polynya to the east. The unique location and environment are conducive to the development of multi-circle and multi-disciplinary observation and scientific research.

On February 7, 2018, the foundation stone of the new station was laid. Subsequently, a number of Chinese Antarctic expedition teams completed the preliminary preparations such as site leveling, construction of temporary wharf, installation of temporary buildings, etc., and the new station will enter the construction stage this year.

After nearly a year, the arrival of the expedition team once again awakened this land. Not long ago, Wang Zhechao, the captain of the new station of the expedition team, and more than 30 team members arrived here by plane. "On the day of arrival, we started the preparatory work for the construction of the new station to ensure that the relevant work can be carried out when the large army arrives. "Clearing snow, inspecting construction machinery, restoring livelihood support, leveling roads, ......The construction of the new station is ready to start.

A few days later, it will be the anniversary of Amundsen's arrival at the South Pole. On the island of Enksburg, the outline of the new station has been drawn on the foundation of the wall.

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