The 40th Antarctic Expedition丨Qinling Station in Antarctica, China, opened

Mondo Science Updated on 2024-02-07

Xinhua News Agency, Qinling Station, Antarctica, February 7 (Reporter Zhou Yuan, Wang Libin) On February 7, at 74 degrees 56 minutes south latitude and 163 degrees 42 minutes east longitude, a new landmark of the Antarctic continent, China's Antarctic Qinling Station, opened. Qinling Station is China's fifth Antarctic research station and will fill the gap in China's exploration of the Ross Sea region in Antarctica.

This is a large-screen video taken at the main venue in Beijing on February 7. On February 7, the opening event of China's Antarctic Qinling Station was held, with the main venue in Beijing, and branch venues in the Antarctic Great Wall Station, Antarctic Zhongshan Station, Antarctic Qinling Station, Arctic Yellow River Station, "Snow Dragon" ship and "Snow Dragon 2" ship. China's Antarctic Qinling Station, located on Ross Sea Enksburg Island, is China's fifth research station in Antarctica. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Ling.

Qinling Station is named after the Qinling Mountains, the ancestral vein of the Chinese nation. The Qinling Mountains are the watershed between the north and the south of China, connecting the east and the west, harmonizing the north and the south, giving birth to all things, and is a spiritual symbol of the continuous inheritance of Chinese historical and cultural memory. The main body of the new station is designed to be the largest single building in China, which can accommodate 80 summer investigators and 30 wintering investigators.

Enksburg Island is located in one of the strongest areas of Antarctica for downwinds, with known maximum winds exceeding 43 meters per second. Qinling Station adopts lightweight and high-strength construction technology and materials, which can resist ultra-low temperatures of minus 60 degrees Celsius and strong corrosion in coastal environments, and is designed to resist winds of 65 meters per second, which is equivalent to wind power above level 17.

On February 7, Wu Haiyang, chief planner of the Ministry of Natural Resources, set up a plaque for the Qinling Station in Antarctica, China. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhou Yuan.

Previously, China had established four research stations in Antarctica, namely the Great Wall Station, Zhongshan Station, Kunlun Station and Taishan Station. The first two are located on King George Island in the West Pole and the Lasman Hills in the East Antarctica, respectively, and the latter two are located in the Antarctic Inland Ice Sheet.

Qinling Station is located on the island of Ross Heinksburg in the southwest Antarctica. The Ross Sea is an area where typical physical geographic units such as the lithosphere, cryosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere interact intensively in the Antarctic region, and is a sensitive area for global climate change and an ideal place for polar scientific investigations.

This is the Qinling Station in Antarctica, China, photographed on February 6. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Zhang Tijun).

The Qinling Station not only fills the gap of China's scientific investigation in the region, but also provides important support for the study of energy and matter exchange in the earth system, marine biological ecology and global climate change. Shen Jun, director of the Polar Expedition Office of the State Oceanic Administration of China, said.

Next, Qinling Station will carry out the construction of supporting facilities such as scientific research and energy, and enter the operation stage in an all-round way.

This is the Qinling station in Antarctica, China, photographed on February 7. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Zhang Tijun).

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