Chinese Antarctic team sets off to build station

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-12-19  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

THE Chinese 25th Antarctic expedition team left Zhongshan Station yesterday for the highest icecap of the South Pole to set up the country's first inland Antarctic research station.

Kunlun Station will be the country's third station in Antarctica after Changcheng Station and Zhongshan Station. The new research station will be located on Dome A, the pole's highest icecap, which is 4,093 meters above sea level.

The 1,300-kilometer journey to Dome A is scheduled to take 20 days, with a team of 28 members, 11 vehicles, 43 sleds and 625 tons of supplies.

"As the region's highest peak, Dome A is a true natural laboratory for scientific study and has a high value for scientific research," said Yang Huigen, chief scientist with the expedition team.

"Dome A is a unique location for meteorological and climate observation and research, and the oldest ice core is most likely to be found here," Yang said.

Dome A was also called as the "inaccessible pole for human beings" with its thin air and a mean annual temperature of minus 60 degrees Celsius.

Li Yuansheng, the team leader, said all 28 members had passed a series of physical and psychological tests and undergone high-altitude acclimatization, and "they will overcome the cold and the lack of oxygen in order to build the new station."

Earlier reports said the station would be equipped with power-generating, water treatment, transport and telecom facilities, and that its construction would be completed next year.

Chinese researchers made their first Dome A trip in January 2005. The 24th Antarctic expedition team went there for a second time to do preparatory work for the station in January.

So far, six countries, including the United States and Russia, have built stations in the Dome A zone.