From fully manual observation of ocean data to basic automation; From living in a dilapidated bungalow, to moving into a two-story building; From holding up a mobile phone to find a signal, to using 5G broadband ......Over the years, the Qianliyan Marine Station of the Ministry of Natural Resources has been transformed step by step, and the work and life of the observers on the island have changed
It's still that island, "the sea has become a mulberry field".
Qianliyan has changed again, welcome to take a look. ”
On the eve of the Spring Festival in 2024, the Beihai Bureau of the Ministry of Natural Resources will arrange ships to go to Qianliyan to deliver supplies to the observers and rotate personnel. Qianliyan is a small island in the middle of the Yellow Sea in China, with an area of only 0135 square kilometers, there are no permanent residents on it, there is no fresh water, and there is not even much soil, and if there is no land supply, human beings cannot survive on the island at all But it is on this isolated island that there is a special type of difficult marine station in our country - Qianliyan Marine Station of the Ministry of Natural Resources. Since the station was established in 1960, observers from the Beihai Bureau of the Ministry of Natural Resources have been working on Qianliyan for 63 years. In the face of the "welcome" invitation of the observers, Qingdao ** reporters visited the ship for the ninth consecutive year to witness the changes on the island.
Senlito Rock Marine Station. Photo by Han Xing.
At 6 o'clock in the morning, before dawn, the "Xiangyanghong 52" ship set off from the dock of Qingdao Marine Scientific Research Base with full supplies and headed for Qianliyan. Accompanying the boat on the island are observers Jiang Tao and Zhang Hui, who will replace Liu Junting and Guo Dong, who have been working at Qianliyan for more than a month, to spend the Spring Festival on the island. Year after year, generations of observers have taken root in the Thousand Miles Rock, changing from "juniors" to "seniors". In 2016, when the reporter first set foot on Qianli Rock, the youngest was Che Haojie, and now he has become the deputy stationmaster; In 2018, Jiang Tao went to the island for the first time, and this year he has become the team leader on the island. In 2023, at the age of 24, Liu Junting will go to the island, and he will become the youngest of all the observers.
After nearly 5 hours of sailing, Qianli Rock came into view. From a distance, it is still the small, desolate island with rocky outcrops, and it looks the same as before. But everyone knows that over the years, with the gradual transformation of the Qianliyan Marine Station, the work and life of the observers on the island have changed.
More livable
After a series of operations, the "Xiangyanghong 52" ship docked at the Qianliyan "wharf" at 10:20. The so-called "wharf" is actually a vacant land of dozens of square meters carved out of a steep cliff face for the transportation of supplies and the rotation of personnel. At this time, the staff took out the gangway, erected it diagonally between the ship and the "dock", and used the boom to transport supplies from the ship to the dock. I still remember that many years ago, the "gangway" to land on the island was nothing more than a simple wooden plank about three or four meters long and only thirty or forty centimeters wide. When the reporter climbed the wooden plank "gangway" to the island with trepidation, Jiang Wenkai, the stationmaster, laughed: "You are afraid of this plank, but we are looking forward to it." With it we can have supplies and we can go home! ”
A small plank is used to act as a "gangway". Source** Photo by Li Xunxiang.
In the past two years, the landing plank has "retired", which also reflects the change of the Senliyan Marine Station from a certain angle. The use of gangways and booms makes handling and replenishment more efficient, and greatly improves the safety of personnel getting on and off the island.
After the supplies weighing several hundred catties such as rice, flour, grain, oil, meat, vegetables, eggs, and gas canisters were transported to the dock, the observers began to carry them on their shoulders to the Qianliyan Ocean Station, which is about 70 meters high on the island. These supplies need to be carried on the back little by little. "In the past, when heating coal in winter, at least 5 tons had to be replenished each time, and it took at least two days for five or six people to carry 5 tons of coal. Jiang Wenkai once told reporters that in the event of strong winds and waves, the supply ship cannot come, or it cannot berth normally sideways, and the biggest problem faced by the observers is the problem of eating. "Sometimes the boat doesn't come for 60 or 70 days, so we don't have anything to eat, so we have to catch seaweed and mix it up. If you don't have anything to eat, you just put some salt in the water and drink it, we call it 'glass soup'. Another time, when the supply ship was delayed, they had to smash the rancid gnocchi and sift it through a screen screen, "It's better than being hungry, although it doesn't taste good." ”
Jiang Wenkai carried supplies. Information**.
However, in recent years, the pressure on the island's observers to carry supplies has been greatly reduced, and the problem of "eating and drinking" has changed dramatically. The Beihai Bureau of the Ministry of Natural Resources has built more than 300 cement steps according to the topography of Qianliyan, which facilitates material handling and travel observation, especially with the continuous development of science and technology, the equipment on board has also been updated and iterated, which can basically ensure timely supply. "A large amount of fresh water can be pumped from the ship's water storage tank to the Qianliyan Reservoir, and a single replenishment can ensure the water demand for three months, which not only alleviates the intensity of replenishment and transportation, but also solves the problem of draft water for observers. On the way to carry supplies, Jiang Tao said with a smile that they no longer have to live a hard life of drinking rainwater and eating "steamed buns dipped in soy sauce".
Walking up the stairs, a small two-story building with a red roof and a pale yellow exterior wall comes into view, which is the Qianliyan Marine Station, the "home" of the observers in Qianliyan. The building was inaugurated in 2007 and has a working area on the first floor and a living area on the second floor. At the entrance of the building, there are vines; In the courtyard, fig trees are planted; On one side of the small building, the observers used the soil pulled up to the island to open up two vegetable plots to replenish fresh vegetables; On the other side, a small "chicken farm" has been fenced off to get fresh eggs. Entering the small building, air conditioners, water heaters, and water purifiers are readily available; On the shelves, there are many more books; Turn on the phone, it's a 5G network.
This immediately reminded the reporter that when they landed on the island in the past few years, the observers had always sighed, "This kind of accommodation and living conditions were unimaginable before." Some of them used to live in small, dilapidated bungalows, and suffered from the "three treasures" (flies, mosquitoes, and small bites) on the Thousand Miles Rock. "Flies bite, and there are so many of them that you can sweep half a dustpan with one dose. What's even more terrifying is the small bite, which can't be separated by mosquito nets. Some colleagues** have allergies, and the swelling only goes away in the second year. Che Haojie said.
A gangway was erected between the ship and the Senrito "wharf". Photo by Han Xing.
Even more difficult may be the lack of spiritual life. In 2016, when the reporter landed on the island, there was almost no Internet on the island, and when the weather was good, he could only hold his mobile phone to find a weak signal. Even on holidays and when "thinking of relatives every festive season", it is difficult for observers to be with their relatives and can only be anxious."
After that, the change was gradual. In 2018, photovoltaic power generation was expanded on Qianliyan, and diesel power generation was used as a backup; In 2021, a 4G communication base station will be built on Qianliyan; In 2022, another 5G device was installed. Therefore, observers who are far away from land can read books, surf the Internet, and "face to face" with their families in their spare time.
The house has been waterproofed, the water storage reservoir that has been used for more than 60 years has been renovated, and the water supply pipes have been insulated. Our living environment is more comfortable and livable. On the Qianli Rock, Jiang Tao, Zhang Hui and other observers enthusiastically took the reporters around, introducing the small and perceptible changes on the isolated island one by one.
Smarter
It is about 240 steps from the east side of the island to the west, and about 820 steps from the south to the north ......On Qianliyan, the observers have measured every inch of land on this small island with their footsteps, and have "relayed" to engage in marine hydrometeorological observations, and the observation data has never been interrupted since the establishment of the Qianliyan Marine Station.
This stems from the importance of the Senrito Rock Marine Station. The sea area where the station is located is a sea communication artery, and the observation data fills the gap in the ocean observation in the middle of the Yellow Sea in China, and it is of great significance to issue marine warnings accurately and timely, especially storm surge and high wave warnings, to ensure the safety of ship navigation. The data of Qianliyan observation also participate in the exchange and sharing of global atmospheric circulation observation data, and the quality of observation data represents the image of the country.
Observers carry out their work. Photo by Han Xing.
Che Haojie has said many times that even if there is a typhoon or a heavy rain, they must insist on inspection, because "once a piece of data is missing, it is a great loss". The reporter has been on the island for interviews in recent years, and still clearly remembers the "jokes" of the observers: when Che Haojie first joined the work, he took the measuring bucket to measure the precipitation in the middle of the night, but he didn't expect the road to slip, he stumbled, and when he saw that he was about to fall, he quickly protected the measuring bucket, and finally fell and his hands were full of blood.
In the opinion of observers, "the worse the weather, the more valuable the data observed". Because of this, they have experienced many thrilling moments. Once, in order to get key data such as tidal height, Jiang Wenkai rushed to the tidal well during a typhoon to measure the data. He spotted the moment the waves fell, quickly opened the door and got in. The moment the door closed, he heard the waves crashing against the door, "I didn't feel anything at the time, but I was really scared when I thought about it later." ”
In the long years of Qianliyan Ocean Station, more than 10 marine data such as tides, waves, relative humidity, wind speed and wind direction all need to be manually observed and reported on time. It can be said that in the last century, many precious observations were obtained by observers at great risk. It is gratifying that since the beginning of this century, the Senliyan Marine Station has successively installed automatic observation equipment, and most of the data have been automatically observed, which has greatly reduced the workload of observers.
In the duty room of the Qianliyan Marine Station, meteorological information such as visibility and relative humidity is clearly displayed on the computer screen. "The visibility meter is a newly installed device in November 2023, which can observe data by minute, and the level of automation and intelligence has been improved, which can effectively remind ships to avoid buoys and other objects in advance. Liu Junting introduced that at present, in addition to water collection, clouds and other contents need to be carried out manually, observers also need to regularly inspect whether the observation instruments are operating normally, find that the fault is dealt with immediately, and if it cannot be recovered, the manual observation will be started immediately.
In 2023, the intelligent ocean station system launched by the Qianliyan Ocean Station has become a "good helper" for observers on the island. Liu Junting added that if there is a deviation in the observation data, the system will prompt and transfer it to manual verification and processing. The system also acts as an "alarm clock" and "memo" for the personnel on duty, which can remind the personnel on duty to carry out observation work in advance. In 2023, the Qianliyan Marine Station will also rely on the communication base station to establish a data dedicated line to transmit marine data and improve the security of data transmission.
Every year when I land on the island, the reporter will ask the newcomers the question of "will you be lonely on the island". After hearing this, Liu Junting smiled shyly and said: "I can endure loneliness, and occasionally I will go to Nanshan for a walk when I am bored." He pointed to the top of the mountain not far away, "Looking at the fishing boats in the distance at the top of the mountain, my heart is much calmer." ”
The times are changing, the conditions are changing, and the personnel are changing, but the "relay" of the observers on the Qianli Rock has not changed. Many of them have left their best youth on the Thousand Miles Rock. still remembers the tears welling up in Jiang Wenkai's wife's eyes when she was interviewed by reporters: "When I got married, I didn't expect him to work on the island for so many years, most of his life." ”
At about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the "Xiangyanghong 52" ship gradually sailed away from Qianliyan. Not long after sailing, the sound of the waves on the island and the slightly fishy smell of the sea in the air could not be heard or smelled. The figures of the observers on the island waving their hands gradually blurred and shrunk into a small dot, but the dusty past of those guarding the isolated island became clearer and clearer. (Qingdao** Guanhai News reporter Li Xunxiang intern Li Huize Hao Jiazhu).
Editor in charge: Sun Yuanxi.