In September 1983, the 12th Consultative Meeting of the Antarctic Treaty was held in Canberra, Australia, and the Chinese delegation composed of Guo Kun, Sima Jun, Song Daqiao and other members participated in the grand meeting.
Guo Kun, as one of the leaders of the Chinese delegation, participated in the meeting with great expectations. As the Director of the Antarctic Expeditionary Office, he is a well-known expert in geology and polar studies in China.
It is undoubtedly of great significance for researchers to participate in such a high-level international academic conference. Guo Kun is fully prepared for this, and hopes to have in-depth exchanges with scholars from other countries at the conference to obtain information about the latest research results in Antarctica.
However, reality poured cold water on his enthusiasm.
The Chinese delegation had only a few pages on its desk to introduce the proceedings of the meeting, while the representatives of the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom distributed a wealth of materials. Although the Chinese delegates actively participated in the discussions and expressed their views, the President of the General Assembly invited the representatives of the States parties, including Guo Kun, out of the venue in the name of "drinking coffee" when it came to major issues and voting.
What is even more outrageous is that China is the only country among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to be invited out of the meeting for the first time. Moreover, the representative of the Chinese side had no knowledge of the outcome of the closed-door discussions and voting.
Guo Kun felt deeply disappointed and humiliated in the long-awaited conference, and even when he recalled this moment many years later, he still had lingering palpitations.
At that time, Guo Kun vowed that "one day, China will also plant a flag and set up a station in Antarctica, and it will never suffer this humiliation again." ”
Why, then, is China participating in this conference, and why is it being treated the way it is? Behind all this, it comes from the Antarctic Treaty.
From June 1958 to December 1, 1959, after more than 60 arduous negotiations, 12 countries, including the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Belgium, Japan, Argentina, Chile, and South Africa, reached an agreement and signed the Antarctic Treaty. The treaty recognizes the Antarctic continent as shared by all mankind, freezes all territorial claims and military operations related to Antarctica, and promotes international cooperation in polar scientific research and the peaceful development and use of Antarctica.
All States Parties are unanimous in their decision-making on matters relating to Antarctica. Any member state of the United Nations can accede to the treaty at any time and become a party to it. China submitted its application for membership on 8 June 1983 and was thus able to participate in the meeting held in Canberra in September of the same year as a State party.
Why did these countries co-sponsor the Antarctic Treaty?
Since the discovery of the Antarctic continent, human beings have never stopped exploring this land. With the deepening of understanding, the disputes and contradictions around Antarctica have become more and more acute.
Britain, France, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile and other countries have claimed sovereignty over Antarctica and are trying to bring it into their respective spheres of influence. In addition, the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, have also shown a keen interest in Antarctica and are ready to intervene at any time.
In order to reconcile the interests of all parties and resolve contradictions, the Antarctic Treaty came into being.
Most people may think that Antarctica is just a remote and uninhabitable permafrost, but why are so many countries flocking to Antarctica?
First of all, Antarctica is the only pure land on Earth that has not yet been occupied by humans, and it contains abundant resources. It is estimated that Antarctica is home to more than 220 minerals, including huge solar energy deposits, covering about 500 billion tons of coal, nearly 100 billion barrels of oil and 3.5 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.
Antarctica is also rich in ecological resources, including 72% of the world's available freshwater stored in Antarctic glaciers. Nearly 100 species of birds and more than 200 species of fish inhabit the land and land of the Antarctic Sea, such as hundreds of millions of penguins, as well as seals, walruses, whales, dolphins and many other marine mammals. Hundreds of millions of tonnes of krill in Antarctic waters not only feed the entire ecosystem, but are also high-quality, protein-rich** with huge seafood potential.
The extreme cold in Antarctica provides a natural place for low-temperature experiments, and many countries choose to conduct low-temperature experiments in electronics, machinery, architecture and other fields every year.
Polar climate has a key impact on the global climate, and the Antarctic has an important cooling effect on the Earth's atmosphere, directly affecting the heat and water vapor exchange in the northern and southern hemispheres. Changes in Antarctic glaciers are a direct indicator of the trend of the greenhouse effect.
The polar night phenomenon in Antarctica provides favorable conditions for continuous astronomical observations, and its dry and cold atmospheric environment also creates good conditions for high-quality observation horizons, and Antarctica is also one of the richest meteorite-rich regions on Earth.
Antarctica has irreplaceable scientific research value in the fields of meteorology, geography and astronomy. Faced with such a unique Antarctic environment, countries are eager to be able to participate in it.
China, as an ambitious power, naturally does not want to lag behind. As early as August 21, 1978, the State Oceanic Administration of China submitted a report to the State Science and Technology Commission on the Antarctic expedition, marking the official start of China's Antarctic research.
On January 12, 1980, at the invitation of Australia, Dong Zhaoqian from the State Oceanic Administration and Zhang Qingsong from the Chinese Academy of Sciences flew to the Casey Research Station in Antarctica, marking the first time that Chinese footprints were left on the Antarctic continent.
Dong Zhaoqian and Zhang Qingsong brought back a wealth of first-hand research materials and investigation reports during this operation, and became the founders of China's Antarctic scientific expedition. However, the operation is still carried out in the form of international cooperation, and the international community still has doubts about China's ability to independently conduct Antarctic scientific expeditions.
Although the Antarctic Treaty is nominally open, only countries that have established research stations in Antarctica and make actual contributions are eligible to become consultative parties to share the results of the expedition and participate in the allocation of resources. However, developed countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union have formed a de facto monopoly on Antarctic scientific research and resource development through technological and resource advantages.
At that time, China's polar research was relatively underdeveloped, and therefore it was not qualified to participate in Antarctica's core interests, and it seemed reasonable that it would be given a cold reception at Canberra, given that few people were willing to share their achievements unconditionally.
If China has been in a passive position and constrained in the Antarctic scientific expedition, then we can only continue to be a party that cannot express its opinion in decision-making, and is often invited out to "drink coffee".
Guo Kun's meticulous preparations for this seemed to have been in vain, and as the leader of the Chinese delegation, he was invited out of the meeting, both as a scholar and as a Chinese, all of which made him unwilling. Therefore, China must rely on its own strength to leave a deep mark on Antarctica to wash away its humiliation in Canberra.
Guo's claim has received widespread support. On February 7, 1984, 32 scientists jointly sent a letter** requesting to set up a station in Antarctica to conduct scientific research. Soon after, they got a positive response from ***.
On February 24, 1984, the State Oceanic Administration held a demonstration meeting in Beijing on the overall plan of the Southern Ocean and Antarctic expeditions.
Subsequently, on September 11, the leadership team of China's first Antarctic scientific expedition was established, with Guo Kun as the team leader.
On November 20, China's first Antarctic expedition consisted of 591 people, including scientists, engineers, technicians and journalists, in addition to 308 naval officers and men. The team members took the "Xiangyanghong 10" ocean-going scientific research ship and the navy J121 ocean-going salvage search and rescue ship from Shanghai Port and embarked on a long trip to Antarctica.
Due to the uncertainty of the future fate, everyone prepared a suicide note before departure, in which someone wrote: If there is an accident, please bury me in Antarctica, and the inscription is inscribed with "Chinese".
The challenge of the Antarctic journey surpassed all imagination, with Typhoon No. 19 blocking the fleet's scheduled course and Typhoon No. 20 forming east of the Philippines.
Faced with the threat of two powerful typhoons, the fleet decisively changed course, bypassing the center of the typhoon. Despite this, the wind along the way was still strong, reaching 8 9 degrees, and the boat was violently jolting and shaking, causing more than half of the crew to feel dizzy and vomit constantly.
On November 25, the J121 ship had another accident, and the piston cooling pipe support of the first cylinder of the right main engine suddenly broke. Not only did the cooling water spill out, but the broken bracket was also caught by the piston into the crankcase.
The main squad reacted quickly and avoided a major accident, but the fleet was in trouble.
There are no spare parts for damaged parts on board, and the repair cannot be carried out without shore repairs. However, at this time, it was already too far away from the nearest foreign port, and it took a lot of time to negotiate with the port.
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After weighing the pros and cons, the J121 decided to separately close the cylinders on the right main engine that damaged the cooling pipes, and let the remaining 8 cylinders continue to operate, retaining more than 90% of the ship's power.
It was a very risky decision, but Admiral ***, the commander of the Navy, after receiving the report, chose to trust the judgment of the officers and men on board and allowed them to take a risk.
After more than 4 hours of emergency repairs, J121 continued with Xiangyanghong 10 and arrived at the port of Ushuaia, Argentina, in South America, on the morning of December 19 for refurbishment.
When the Argentine Navy learned that the J121 had sailed 10,000 nautical miles with closed cylinders for 26 days, it expressed deep admiration for the courage and technology of the Chinese Navy.
On December 26, 1984, China's first Antarctic expedition arrived at Civil Defence Bay, King George Island, Shetland Islands, South Antarctica, and J121 and Xiangyanghong 10 anchored in Don Samuel Bay and Adley Bay respectively.
On December 31, the Chinese flag flew over the Antarctic continent for the first time, marking the groundbreaking ceremony of China's first Antarctic research station, the Great Wall Station.
Guo Kun, the leader of the scientific expedition, said excitedly: "The construction of the Great Wall Station is related to the honor of the country and the dignity of the nation, and it is a major undertaking. ”
However, the groundbreaking ceremony was just the beginning, and the first issue in building the station was how to transport the supplies from the ship to the construction site.
Since neither J121 nor Xiangyanghong 10 has the ability to break ice, they cannot get close to land to unload.
Therefore, the team members braved the wind and snow at minus 30 degrees Celsius on the cold and biting ice water, reef-dense shallows, and despite the risk of colds and frostbite, they built a 29-meter-long, 62 meters wide, 31 meter deep simple pier. The terminal, which was originally scheduled to take 8 days to complete, was completed 3 days ahead of schedule.
After the completion of the wharf, the team members made more than 100 round-trips through small boats and *** to quickly send about 500 tons of building materials, fuel and other materials needed for the construction of the station to the island. It was not until January 19, 1985 that all the materials for the construction of the station were unloaded.
After the materials were transported, Xiangyanghong 10 set sail for the Southern Ocean for scientific investigation in the afternoon, and the Great Wall Station on the island entered an intense construction stage.
In Antarctica, work and life are extremely difficult. In addition to the freezing weather, small living spaces, intense ultraviolet rays, diurnal disorders, and the shaking of vehicles and boats all bring various troubles.
During Antarctic expeditions, team members often encounter common injuries such as acute soft tissue injuries, fungal infections, pharyngitis, insomnia, periodontitis, colds, gastroenteritis, high blood pressure and frostbite, which test their endurance.
Team leader Guo Kun accidentally injured his right foot, but he only put a few plasters on it, and insisted on fighting on the construction site with the team members despite the dissuasion of the team doctor.
The main project of the Great Wall Station is two steel structure station buildings of about 350 square meters, using double-layer steel plates sandwiched with polyurethane foam, which must not only be windproof and fireproof, but also cold-resistant and frost-resistant, and cannot crack at minus 50 or 60 degrees.
In order to speed up the progress of the project, the officers and men of the navy formed four groups and took turns to rush to work in two shifts.
The team members worked continuously for more than 10 hours a day, and through their efforts, from laying the foundation to the completion of the external structure of the station building, it was 5 days ahead of the original plan. When Xiangyanghong 10 returned to King George Island from the Southern Ocean, the interior of the Great Wall Station had already begun.
On February 21, the Great Wall Station was officially completed, and the entire construction period took only 45 days, nearly a month ahead of the original plan. What is even more rare is that there were no major accidents during the construction process, and "no loss of personnel and no loss of materials" was realized.
More than 400 members of the Chinese Antarctic expedition team attended the inauguration ceremony of the Great Wall Station. Guo Kun is about to turn 50 years old and become the first stationmaster of the Great Wall Station, fulfilling his long-cherished wish.
The speed of construction of the Great Wall Station amazed its international counterparts, as the construction of scientific research stations in other countries usually takes a year and a half.
Other nearby research stations contacted to congratulate the Chinese expedition team. The American "Princess" and the Federal Republic of Germany's "Polaris" research ships even sent congratulatory messages from dozens of kilometers away.
In the following period, team members from more than a dozen countries, including the Soviet Union, the United States, France, Germany, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, etc., came to visit to greet the Chinese scientific expedition team and express their willingness to cooperate.
Conclusion On February 26, 1985, the Antarctic expedition team completed the expedition mission and began the return journey, and all members returned to Shanghai Port safely on April 10.
On March 31, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) assigned the international station number "89058" to the Great Wall Station in China.
On October 7, the 13th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Conference was held in Brussels, and it was unanimously agreed to admit China as a consultative state.
Guo Kun, the head of the Great Wall Station, attended the meeting for the first time as a representative of the Consultative State, which was a moment of redemption for him.
With the enhancement of national strength and technological progress, China has built four major scientific research stations in Antarctica: the Great Wall Station, Zhongshan Station, Kunlun Station and Taishan Station.
On the island of Enksburg, China's fifth research station, the new station in the Ross Sea, is also nearing completion, and China now has the number of research stations after Russia (8), Argentina (7) and the United States (6).
In addition to the research station, China now has two polar research vessels, the "Snow Dragon" and the "Snow Dragon 2", which, like the Xiangyanghong 10 and J121 in the past, have made great contributions to China's Antarctic research activities.
At present, Xuelong and Xuelong-2 have jointly completed China's 38th Antarctic scientific expedition and successfully returned to the Shanghai base safely.