Polar expedition to break the ice

By Cai Wenjun  |   2008-7-12  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

Scientists wave farewell boarding the Snow Dragon as the icebreaker made ready to leave Shanghai yesterday, marking the start of China's third scientific-research expedition to the North Pole. A group of 110 Chinese scientists and staff have joined the 75-day expedition. Twelve scientists from overseas are also making the trip. More in photo gallery

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CHINA'S only icebreaker ship, the Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, left Shanghai for the North Pole yesterday for its third Arctic expedition.

A total of 122 team members, including 12 scientists from the United States, South Korea, Finland, France and Japan, set out on the 13,271-nautical-mile voyage.

Scientists will study climate change in the Arctic Ocean and calculate its global influence.

"We will carry out large-scale and multi-disciplinary research around the Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea, Canadian Basin and Arctic Ocean," said team leader Yuan Shaohong, vice director of China's Polar Research Center.

"Our missions will include observations while at sea, at ice camps, and from helicopters. The Arctic is one of the most sensitive environments to conduct research into global climate change," Yuan said.

Underwater robots will be used to inspect ice, measure marine temperatures and study marine life. A winch will dive 4,000 meters into the Canadian Basin to collect deep-sea micro-organisms for pharmaceutical research.

The ship, with 11 female team members, is due to come home to Shanghai on September 25 and then head to the Antarctic in late October.

This is the ship's first voyage since a refit and repairs. The onboard laboratory has been equipped with advanced technology to conduct experiments. A low-temperature storehouse will stockpile marine samples.

Krista Hoff, an American scientist majoring in environmental biology at Columbia University, said this was her first visit to the Arctic, and she was looking forward to researching climate change.