The reporter learned from the Ministry of Natural Resources that today (February 7), China's Antarctic Qinling Station was officially opened. This is the fifth scientific research station that China has built in Antarctica.
It is reported that the Qinling Station in Antarctica fills the gap in China's exploration in the Ross Sea region of Antarctica. In February 1985, China's first Antarctic research station, the Great Wall Station, was completed on King George Island, Antarctica. Subsequently, Zhongshan Station, Kunlun Station and Taishan Station were also completed successively.
Qinling Station in Antarctica (Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Natural Resources).
Qinling Station, Antarctica.
The Ross Sea, where Qinling Station is located, is the closest sea area to the South Pole, which is an ideal place for polar scientific investigation, which not only fills the gap of China's scientific exploration in this region, but also provides important support for countries to study the exchange of energy and matter in the earth system, marine biological ecology and global climate change. It is understood that after the completion of Qinling Station, it is expected to receive 80 summer investigators and 30 wintering investigators.
Qinling Station in Antarctica (Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Natural Resources).
Qinling Station has a construction area of 5,244 square meters. During the construction process, Qinling Station fully considered the special natural environmental conditions of Antarctica and adopted a prefabricated and modular construction system. Many modules are processed in China and assembled directly on site, which greatly reduces the on-site construction time and reduces the impact on the on-site environment of Antarctica.
It is understood that during the two-month construction process of Qinling Station, it has experienced extreme weather tests such as heavy snowfall and hurricanes. At present, the main structure and wall fixing project of Qinling Station have been completed. The next step is mainly to carry out interior decoration, indoor electromechanical, and other functional areas, including the foundation of new energy tanks, as well as the installation of facilities.
Antarctic Great Wall Station.
The Great Wall Station of China in Antarctica was the first permanent scientific research station established by China in Antarctica, which was completed on February 20, 1985. It is located on the Fields Peninsula in the western part of King George Island in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica, with geographical coordinates of 62°12 59"s，58°57′52"w。The station area is 2 kilometers long from north to south and 126 kilometers and covers an area of about 252 square kilometers.
Antarctic Great Wall Station (Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Natural Resources).
The station area is a hilly terrain composed of volcanic rocks, with an average altitude of 10 meters. Extreme maximum summer temperatures of 117. The extreme minimum temperature in winter is -277. The average annual temperature is -21℃。The average annual precipitation is 5896 mm, mainly snowfall, with a maximum monthly precipitation of 1734 mm, the annual average of relative humidity is 89%, the air humidity is large and the salt content is high, the number of windy days in the year is more than 129, and the maximum wind speed can reach 330 m sec, maximum wind speed 381 m second.
The scale of the station area is 4,082 square meters, and there are 12 buildings of various types, including Building No. 1, comprehensive activity center, scientific research office building, power generation building, living building, comprehensive library, scientific research building, sewage treatment building, waste treatment building, food storage building, boiler room, fruit and vegetable cultivation room, etc. The oil storage capacity is 700 cubic meters, and there is a first-class apron and a 40-ton wharf berth, with construction machinery, transportation vehicles, double-engine rubber boats, all-terrain vehicles, triangular crawler off-road vehicles, etc., and the station area is equipped with satellite network systems and medical support equipment. In terms of scientific research, it has mainly carried out scientific research observation and research such as biological research, environmental monitoring, routine meteorological observation, ice and snow, sea ice, geology, geomagnetism, scientific observation, satellite surveying and mapping, etc. The station can accommodate 40 people in summer and 25 people in winter every year.
In 2006, the Great Wall Station entered the sequence of national field scientific observation and research stations, and was named "National Field Scientific Observation and Research Station of Polar Ecology of the Great Wall of Antarctica".
Zhongshan Station in Antarctica.
The Zhongshan Station in Antarctica, China, was established on February 26, 1989. It is located in the Lasman Hills of the East Antarctic continent with a geographical coordinates of 69°22'24"s, 76°22'40"e, the station area is 1 long from north to south8 km, 2 wide from east to west1 km, covers an area of about 378 square kilometers.
Zhongshan Station in Antarctica, China (Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Natural Resources).
The landform of the station area is mainly hilly terrain composed of gneiss, with an average altitude of 11 meters and an average of 1permafrost below 1 meter; Extreme maximum temperature in summer is 98. The extreme minimum temperature in winter is -457. The average annual temperature is minus 99℃。More than 122 windy days a year; The continuous daylight time is about 54 days, and the continuous night time is about 58 consecutive nights.
The scale of the station area is 8,000 square meters, and there are 18 buildings of various types, including the main building, the comprehensive activity center, the wintering building, the summer building, the power generation building, the comprehensive library, the garage, the meteorological observation building, the various scientific research observation building, the sewage treatment building, the waste treatment building, the boiler room, the fruit and vegetable cultivation room, etc. The oil storage capacity is 660 cubic meters, there are three first-class aprons and a 40-ton wharf berth, with construction machinery, transportation vehicles, all-terrain vehicles, snow tractors, etc., and the station area is equipped with satellite network systems and medical security equipment. Zhongshan Station is well-equipped and functional, and is a transportation hub for inland investigation in China. In terms of scientific research, it mainly carries out scientific research observation and research on meteorological observation, polar high-altitude atmospheric physics, ice and snow, atmosphere, oceanography, geology, geochemistry, geography, and environmental monitoring. Zhongshan Station can accommodate 120 people in summer and 25 people in winter every year.
In 2005, Zhongshan Station entered the sequence of National Field Scientific Observation and Research Stations, and was named "National Field Scientific Observation and Research Station of Antarctic Mountain Snow Ice and Space Special Environment and Disasters".
Kunlun Station, Antarctica.
China's Antarctic Kunlun Station is China's first Antarctic inland summer research station, which was completed on January 27, 2009, with a geographical coordinate of 80°25'01"s, 77°06'58"e, 1260 kilometers away from Antarctic Zhongshan Station. The Kunlun station is built at the highest point of the inland ice sheet - Ice Dome A, with an altitude of 4,087 meters, the air in Ice Dome A is thin, and the oxygen content is only about 60 of that of the coast, which is called "the inaccessible extreme". The maximum temperature in summer is -104. The extreme minimum temperature in winter is -831 (measured on August 29, 2018), the average annual temperature is -525. The air pressure is between 550 600 hPa, and the average annual wind speed is 39 m sec.
Kunlun Station in Antarctica, courtesy of the Ministry of Natural Resources
The main building scale of the station area is 558 square meters (excluding the ice core drilling work area under the snow), and the main building functions are divided into accommodation area, activity area and support area, mainly including dormitory, scientific research and observation, satellite communication, kitchen facilities, medical facilities, water supply and water facilities, heating facilities, generator units, oil-fired boilers, sewage treatment, oxygen production devices, snow melting equipment, etc.
The building is assembled with modular components, and has an emergency system, oil storage system, ice core site, garage, etc., and has a fixed-wing aircraft ice and snow take-off and landing runway. In terms of scientific research, it mainly carries out scientific research in the fields of glaciology, astronomy, geophysics, atmospheric science, etc., and is a "natural laboratory". Kunlun Station can accommodate 20 people every year in summer.
Antarctic Taishan Station.
China's Antarctic Taishan Station is China's second Antarctic inland summer research station, which was completed on February 8, 2014. The geographical coordinates are 73°51 s, 76°58 e, the altitude is 2621 meters, and it is 520 kilometers away from Zhongshan Station and 715 kilometers away from Kunlun Station. The maximum temperature in summer is -92. The extreme minimum temperature in winter is -60, and the average annual temperature is -353. The average annual wind speed is 109 m sec.
Taishan Station in Antarctica (Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Natural Resources).
The scale of the station area is 710 square meters, of which the main building is built on three floors above the ice and snow surface, with an area of 410 square meters, with a unique architectural shape, with Chinese elements "Chinese red lantern", and its functions include dormitory, scientific research and observation, satellite communication, kitchen facilities, medical facilities, water supply facilities, heating facilities, emergency alarm, etc. The auxiliary building is 300 square meters below the ice and snow surface to avoid ice and snow burial, and adopts a container mobile module structure, with generator units, heating systems, oil-fired boilers, snow melting facilities, sewage treatment, etc., which can be connected to the main building through the snow pipe gallery. It has a snow take-off and landing runway for fixed-wing aircraft.
Taishan Station makes full use of Antarctica's abundant renewable energy, and solar and wind power generation systems are built in the station area to provide power guarantee, and some equipment has been continuously operated in unattended conditions in winter. In terms of scientific research, the polar glacier and meteorological observation system and space physics observation system are mainly carried out, and the Taishan station provides important support for the Kunlun station, fixed-wing aircraft and the Grove Mountain in Antarctica (85 kilometers away from Taishan Station) expeditions. Taishan Station can accommodate 20 people every year for summer.
Reporter Zhang Jianlin.
Edited by Liu Qianxian.