China’s 42nd Antarctic expedition team waved goodbye as they set sail from Shanghai this weekend, braving icy seas and sub-zero temps! 🧊🚢 Their mission? To drill into hidden lakes buried under over 3,000 meters of ice – a first for China.
"We're deploying our homegrown hot-water and thermal-melting drill systems to carry out clean sampling through thick ice," says Wei Fuhai, leader and chief scientist of the 42nd expedition team. Imagine unlocking a time capsule sealed for millennia!
These subglacial lakes are natural treasure chests, home to unique ecosystems and rich records of Earth's ice-sheet history and climate shifts. Studying them could reveal how life adapts in extreme conditions and shed light on past climate change.
Back on land at the new Qinling Station, green power is making waves. Since February, the station has used a wind-solar-hydrogen-storage hybrid system, slashing fossil fuel use by over 100 tonnes a year. Even in polar nights, stored green energy keeps things running for hours. 🌬️☀️🔋
And it's not just clean energy – robotics and AI are on the scene. Qinling Station's warehouse uses polar robots and an AI-driven platform for unmanned management, boosting material handling efficiency by 40%! 🤖📦
On the ice, the team will test more high-tech gear, like the Snow Leopard 6×6 wheeled vehicle and the THT550 hydraulic towing rig. These beasts are built to tackle the harshest terrain.
Over 500 experts from more than 80 institutions on the Chinese mainland are on board, alongside researchers from over 10 countries and regions – including Thailand, Chile, Portugal, Hong Kong and Macao – showing how science crosses borders. 🌍
They'll return home by May 2026, full of data, stories, and new discoveries to share with the world. Stay tuned for updates from the frozen frontier! ❄️🗺️
Reference(s):
China kicks off 42nd Antarctic expedition with new drilling equipment
cgtn.com
