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Chinese research vessel Xuelong returns after completing Antarctica expedition
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CHINESE research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, docked in Shanghai on Tuesday, wrapping up the country’s 32nd scientific expedition to Antarctica.
During the expedition, the researchers discovered the world’s largest known canyon under the Antarctic ice sheets, which stretches about 1,100 kilometers, nearly twice the length of Grand Canyon in the US. The canyon was found near the Princess Elizabeth Land.
“Based on our data, the canyon is about 1,500 meters in depth, while the ice sheets above the canyon was twice or three times of that depth,” Sun Bo, vice director of the expedition team, told Shanghai Daily. “One would never know that there is a big canyon beneath by just walking on it.”
Sun said further research over the canyon was still ongoing.
The big discovery was achieved with the help of a fixed-wing aircraft, Xueying 601, which was deployed by the expedition team in polar exploration for the first time.
Sun said the finding was not only a big geological discovery, but was also of great importance on the study of Antarctic ice sheet’s stability, which had a direct influence on the global sea level.
In addition, the expedition team also found numerous melting water drainage made of many interconnected subglacial lakes and water channels beneath the ice sheets near the Princess Elizabeth Land.
Sun said the discovery will help in understanding where the Southern Ocean’s deep water comes from, which also plays an important role in the ice sheet’s stability and sea level changes.
The 158-day expedition covered about 30,000 nautical miles with 277 crew members.
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