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July 19, 2017

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Arctic team in Northwest Passage bid

CHINA’S eighth Arctic expedition, which sets off tomorrow, will be the country’s first attempt to go through the Northwest Passage linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, will leave its home port in Shanghai to head for the Northeast Passage and return via the Northwest Passage to attempt its first circumnavigation of the Arctic rim, the team’s director and chief scientist Xu Ren said.

From this year, the country is expected to launch annual Arctic expeditions for regular and more standardized observations of important environment and climate change concerns in the Arctic Ocean, Xu said.

He Jianfeng, the team’s vice director, said: “The Northwest Passage is an important part of the Arctic and the transit will help us to better understand the sea route and the Arctic Ocean’s change. The attempt this time will also test the navigability of this sea route for commercial shipping to better explore the Arctic Ocean.”

The ice-choked Arctic Ocean has two shipping routes available, the Northwest Passage goes through waters north of Canada while the Northeast Passage extends along Russia’s north coast.

Xuelong made its first voyage via the Northeast Passage during the country’s fifth Arctic expedition in 2012.

The Northwest Passage has more complicated ice situations, but can provide a shortcut from Asia to North America.

The team will also research biodiversity and marine hydrology in the Arctic Region, particularly on subjects such as microplastic waste and ocean acidification.

“We were not certain about subjects we should explore or for long-term explorations when we first launched Arctic expedition,” Xu said. “But during the first seven expeditions, we’ve accumulated understandings on the Arctic, so we aim to focus on more targeted subjects in the eighth expedition, so as to make our contribution to the global efforts against climate change and environment pollution.”

The 96-strong team will travel more than 19,000 nautical miles before their October 10 return.




 

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