China Arctic/Antarctic Science, Technology and Industry: News & Discussions

[JSCh]

Nation’s ‘power bank’ to function in Antarctic
By Sun Haoran Source:Global Times Published: 2019/10/16 22:23:40 Last Updated: 2019/10/16 23:44:18

The Kunlun team and the Taishan team of China's 35th Antarctic expedition move amid a blizzard in Antarctica, Feb. 3, 2019. The Kunlun team and the Taishan team of China's 35th Antarctic expedition left the Taishan Station for Zhongshan Station, which is some 520 kilometers away. They are expected to reach the destination on Feb 8. Photo: Xinhua

China began to operate its first homemade polar energy system, which can withstand the extreme coldness and provide sustainable electric power for scientific research in the Antarctic uninterrupted for a year.

The unattended system was installed at the Taishan Station, ending insufficient electric supply at one of China's four research stations on the southernmost continent.

Scientific experts stressed that this accomplishment has lifted the restrictions from other countries to our scientific research in the Antarctic, which will protect our research results in the South Pole and China's national interest.

The energy system called "Dong Da Ji Neng," developed by China's Southeast University, was shipped to Shanghai for China's 36th Antarctic expedition on Tuesday and will be loaded on the icebreaker Xuelong to the South Pole next Tuesday, the Science and Technology Daily reported.

The report said that the "giant power bank" can resist temperatures as low as minus 80 or 90 C in the Antarctic and remotely monitor the research station via satellite. The energy system looks like two containers - one control cabin and one power generation cabin, with six generator sets from solar energy and fuel oil.

Wei Haikun, Executive Dean of the School of Automation at Southeast University, told the newspaper that his team can conduct remote real-time monitoring of energy modules through iridium communication.

Taishan Station is located 2,621 meters above sea level where the annual average temperature is minus 36.6 C, and researchers can only work with an insufficient conventional generator to the station in summer for about one month.

China's power generation equipment at another station, Kunlun Station, is provided by foreign countries, but it has malfunctioned many times, Dong Yue, a research fellow at the Polar Research Institute of the Ocean University of China, told the Global Times. "If those countries cut off the system at the Kunlun station, our scientific research in the region will be restricted by those countries," Dong noted.

 

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[JSCh]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1197671337499615233

 

[JSCh]

In pics: icebreaking experiment of China's polar icebreaker Xuelong 2 in Antarctica
Source: Xinhua| 2019-11-28 10:26:54|Editor: zh

Aerial photo taken on Nov. 27, 2019 shows the fore direction (horizontal) and aft direction paths broken through by China's polar icebreaker Xuelong 2 in the waters in Antarctica. (Xinhua/Liu Shiping)

Aerial photo taken on Nov. 26, 2019 shows China's polar icebreaker Xuelong 2 breaking a fore direction path during an icebreaking experiment in the waters in Antarctica. (Xinhua/Liu Shiping)

 

[JSCh]

南海的浪涛
12月6日 07:51 来自 微博 weibo.com
在第20届中国国际海事会展上，中国船舶工业集团有限公司第708研究所首次展示了其最新设计的国产常规动力重型破冰船的模型。从该模型的外观和说明文字中可以看出，这是一头极其威猛的“冰原巨兽”。她的排水量高达2.6万吨，定员180人。其冰区加强等级为PC2，即可以全年在中等厚度的多年冰龄状况下破冰航行，连续破冰能力达到惊人的3.0米厚度，超过了俄罗斯现役最大核动力破冰船"五十周年胜利"号的2.8米破冰能力，与俄目前正在建造的22220型核动力破冰船的破冰能力相等。
详情请阅读：《中国“冰原巨兽”：常规动力重型破冰船即将横空出世》
O中国“冰原巨兽”：常规动力重型破冰船即将横空...
December 6, 07:51 from Weibo
At the 20th China International Maritime Conference and Exhibition, the 708th Research Institute of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation showed its newly designed model of conventionally-powered heavy-duty icebreaker for the first time. As you can see from the model's appearance and explanatory text, this is an extremely mighty "Icefield Giant". She has a displacement of 26,000 tons and a capacity of 180 people. Its Polar Class Level is PC2, which means that it can sail through the ice at mid-thickness throughout the year. Its continuous ice-breaking capacity reaches an amazing thickness of 3.0 meters. The 2.8-meter ice-breaking capability is equal to the ice-breaking capability of the 22220 nuclear-powered icebreaker currently under construction in Russia.

 

[JSCh]

China's 36th Antarctic Expedition Finishes Sampling of Longest Columnar Marine Sediment
Dec 18, 2019
CCTV Video News Agency

China's 36th Antarctic Expedition finished the sampling of the longest columnar marine sediment in its history at the Cosmonaut Sea from Tuesday to Wednesday. At the Cosmonaut Sea, the expedition started sampling after hours of preparation and debugging. The sediment sample is measured 18.36 meters long. The previously collected sediment sample of the same type in Antarctica was eight meters, so it is the "longest columnar seabed sediment" sample collected in the history of Chinese Antarctic expedition. http://www.cctvplus.com/news/20191218...

 

[JSCh]

Feature: Burnt down research station in Antarctica to be reborn under BRICS cooperation
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-05 16:03:01|Editor: An



BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- A burnt down research station in the Antarctica is expected to be reborn next year thanks to cooperation built by the BRICS bloc, which will enable it to continue generating benefits to the globe, even including the southernmost point on the Earth.

Under an international contract, a Chinese enterprise will complete the reconstruction of the seriously damaged research station with rich experience and adept skills within only four months during the summer time in the Antarctica.

It will be the first time for a Chinese enterprise to rebuild a foreign research station in the Antarctica under contract. China has gained rich experience from long-time practice in the chilly environment, which makes countries like Chile, Argentina and Brazil seek China's expertise.

In 2015, China Electronics Import & Export Corp. (CEIEC) defeated other international bidders and won the contract for rebuilding the Ferraz Station owned by Brazil, which was originally built in 1984, and which was burnt down in 2012 owing to fire caused by function fault of generators group.

China already has four Antarctic research bases of its own -- Great Wall, Zhongshan, Kunlun and Taishan. The Kunlun station was erected at Dome Argus (Dome A), the pole's highest icecap at 4,093 meters above the sea level, in 2009. Kunlun was built with a technique known as the complete assembling model, which is a mainstream construction technique capable of effectively shortening the duration of construction and on-site work.

Located near the westerly belt, the Ferraz Station has always been swept by winds above Force 6 in most of the year. With all 12 months having an average temperature below 5 degrees Celsius, it is expected that snow will be accumulated to 2 or 3 meters in depth in November when the Chinese project team reaches the location, said Wei Wenliang, former head of the Polar Expedition Office from the State Oceanic Administration of China.

"The work of constructing a 100,000 square meter building in China does not equal to the work of building a research station of thousands of square meters in the Antarctica," the veteran, who has been to the South Pole 17 times, told Xinhua.

"The construction is a total turnkey project... We will turn the drawing sheet handed to us into a concrete property in the Antarctica, and we are in charge of a whole chain from material supply, equipment, logistics and on-site organization," he said.

Rui Furtado, CEO of Afaconsult, a Portuguese designing company in charge of the station's design, said the project is devised by the prefabrication method and all the four-month construction time will be spent on assembling.

That means that any tiny flaw in the prefabrication period might cause big problems in assembling.

Cao Hong, head of the Ferraz Station project from CEIEC, said, "The design's accuracy reaches the level of Swiss watch manufacturing." The station's construction meets the standard of mechanical working rather than that of steel structure.

Jose Costa Dos Santos, Brazilian Navy lieutenant commander and head of the project, said the two countries share common targets in scientific research in the Antarctica, and that they can tap potential in scientific and research exchanges and logistic support.

Wei said the contract for rebuilding the damaged station opened a new model of cooperation between China and Brazil and within the framework of BRICS grouping Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

There is great potential in BRICS or BRICS Plus cooperation in the Antarctic research both in commercial joint construction of stations and joint scientific and technological research.

Brazil’s new US$100 million Antarctic base, built by China

• Base built on site of previous facility, which was largely razed in a 2012 fire
• The new centre consists of 17 laboratories and accommodation for 65 people

Agencies
Published: 11:27am, 16 Jan, 2020

Brazil invested nearly US$100 million in the reconstruction of the Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station. Photo: EPA

Brazil has inaugurated a new US$100 million Antarctic base, built by Chinese company CEIEC to replace a research station destroyed by fire almost seven years ago.


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Brazil’s new US$100 million Antarctic base, built by China | South China Morning Post

 

[Stranagor]

China's 36th Antarctic expedition team put two buoys into ocean


Photo taken on Jan. 27, 2020 from China's polar icebreaker Xuelong 2, or Snow Dragon 2, shows iceberg in the southern Atlantic ocean westerlies. China's 36th Antarctic expedition team put two buoys into the ocean to acquire scientific data at 55.26 degrees south latitude and 17.56 east longitude. [Photo/Xinhua]



Aerial photo shows China's polar icebreaker Xuelong 2, or Snow Dragon 2, sailing in the southern Atlantic ocean westerlies on Jan. 27, 2020. China's 36th Antarctic expedition team put two buoys into the ocean to acquire scientific data at 55.26 degrees south latitude and 17.56 east longitude. [Photo/Xinhua]



A member of China's 36th Antarctic expedition team works to put a buoy into the ocean aboard China's polar icebreaker Xuelong 2, or Snow Dragon 2, on Jan. 27, 2020. China's 36th Antarctic expedition team put two buoys into the ocean to acquire scientific data at 55.26 degrees south latitude and 17.56 east longitude. [Photo/Xinhua]

Members of China's 36th Antarctic expedition team work to put a buoy into the ocean aboard China's polar icebreaker Xuelong 2, or Snow Dragon 2, on Jan. 27, 2020. China's 36th Antarctic expedition team put two buoys into the ocean to acquire scientific data at 55.26 degrees south latitude and 17.56 east longitude. [Photo/Xinhua]

http://www.china.org.cn/photos/2020-01/30/content_75659028_4.htm

 

[JSCh]

China's first polar observation satellite supports polar research
Source: Xinhua| 2019-10-09 20:30:04|Editor: ZX

SHANGHAI, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's first polar observation satellite, the BNU-1, has successfully obtained data on polar regions, according to the satellite's chief scientist Wednesday.

After nearly one month of in-orbit testing, the satellite is working normally and conducting full-coverage observation of the Antarctic and the Arctic every day, Cheng Xiao, the chief scientist, said at the China Symposium on Polar Science 2019.

Cheng said the satellite data connection system launched on Tuesday allows scientists around the world to obtain polar observation data acquire by the satellite. Registered users can also propose new observation requirements.

The satellite continuously monitored a gigantic iceberg breaking away from the Amery Ice Shelf in east Antarctica in September, helping limit its impact on submerged buoys and investigation ships in the surrounding area.

Cheng said the satellite will help reduce China's reliance on foreign satellites for polar observation data.

"The satellite's spatial resolution reaches 75 meters, which offers more detailed information on the ice cover and the sea ice," Cheng said.

The satellite will also support China's upcoming 36th Antarctic expedition by enhancing its navigation capability in the polar ice zone.

Developed by the Beijing Normal University and Shenzhen Aerospace Dongfanghong Development Ltd., the satellite weighs 16 kg and is equipped with two cameras and one receiver. It has great significance in promoting the research of polar regions and global climate change.

China's polar-observing satellite completes Antarctic mission
Xinhua, March 13, 2020

China's first polar-observing satellite has completed its Antarctic observation mission after orbiting Earth for six months.

Since it was launched on Sept. 12, 2019, the satellite called "Ice Pathfinder" (Code: BNU-1) has sent back more than 1,000 images covering the south polar region, according to a statement by its operation team Friday.

It has observed two vast ice collapses in the continent, one occurred on the Amery Ice Shelf on Sept. 25, 2019, and the other on the Pine Island Glacier in February this year. The satellite has provided continuous monitoring of these ice calving events, obtaining key satellite imagery and data, said the operation team leader Chen Zhuoqi, also an associate professor of the School of Geospatial Engineering and Science under the Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou.

Scientists of the satellite project have participated in the country's ongoing 36th Antarctic expedition. Apart from data acquisition of ground features near research base Zhongshan Station, they also used drone technology to do remote sensing research, to support "satellite-drone-ground" synchronous scientific experiments in the Antarctic.

Its data will also be used to study global climate changes and develop Arctic shipping routes, according to Cheng Xiao, lead scientist of the project.

In the past, Chinese scientists conducted polar studies mainly based on data collected by vessels and research stations. The use of remote sensing satellite technology will enable them to monitor and obtain imagery and data of difficult-to-access areas.

"The Ice Pathfinder will rectify China's lack of polar observation data and reduce the country's dependence on imports of the technology," Cheng said.

The polar-observing satellite, with a design life of about one year, weighs only 16 kg. It was initiated by scientists from the Beijing Normal University and developed by Shenzhen Aerospace Dongfanghong Development Ltd.

It is equipped with high-resolution cameras that can achieve full coverage of the Antarctic and Arctic in five days. It also has an automatic identification system for vessels to navigate through parts or the entirety of polar regions.

The operation team will soon release the Antarctic data to support Chinese and international polar research, and the satellite is going to start its first Arctic observation mission.

 

[JSCh]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1271981125456367616

 

[JSCh]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1283560370808872960

 

[TaiShang]

China's "Arctic Silk Road"

The Chinese-backed Yamal LNG plant under construction, Sabetta, Russia (file image courtesy Total)

By China Dialogue Ocean 01-10-2020 02:16:00



[By Zhang Chun]

If actions to mitigate climate change are not taken and global temperatures continue to rise in line with current trends, by 2030 the Arctic may be free of sea ice during the summer. This opens up a number of new routes for shipping, an opportunity China is currently moving to take advantage of with a series of development projects.

There are three potential routes across the Arctic: the northeast passage around Eurasia, the northwest passage around North America and the central Arctic ocean route. For China, they offer a shorter and cheaper alternative to current shipping routes, which reach major markets in Europe via the Indian ocean and the Suez canal.

Identified as a focus of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in June 2017, China’s interest in these Arctic routes is based on more than transporting trade goods. The melting sea ice is also making it more feasible to access the Arctic’s abundant oil and gas reserves, the majority of which have been identified in Russia. Of the three Arctic routes, ice along the northeast passage, which follows Russia’s coastline, is melting the fastest.

Illustration courtesy China Dialogue Ocean

The idea of working with Russia to turn this route into an “Arctic Silk Road” was first proposed by China in July 2017. As the list below shows, the focus of most of the projects that will form the backbone of this economic cooperation is shipping and energy. But investment is also going into scientific research. As China underlined in its Arctic policy, published in January 2018, understanding the region’s changing environment is a key concern.

Because while the melting of sea ice opens up new opportunities, development in the region also opens up threats to the environment. There are widespread worries about disasters caused by oil spills or collisions once shipping lanes are open. Harmful air pollution is also a concern, and environmentalists have called for a ban on heavy fuel oil in the region. The Chinese government is keen to express its shared concern for these issues, stating in its Arctic policy that “both protection and development must be considered, with current and long-term interests balanced, and sustainable development promoted.”

China's "Arctic Silk Road" projects include:

China–Russia Yamal LNG

Partners: China, Russia, France
Status: Production commenced December 2017

The world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, this is China and Russia’s first joint Arctic Silk Road venture. Partners in the project include Russia’s Novatek, the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), French firm Total, and China’s Silk Road Fund. Together, CNPC and the Silk Road Fund hold a 30% stake.

Chinese shipping firms handle LNG cargos bound for China. In July 2018, seven months after operations started, the first shipment of LNG from Yamal arrived in Jiangsu province’s Nantong. A second phase of the project is now being constructed on the Gydan peninsula, to the east of Yamal, and due to begin operating in 2023.

Payakha oilfield

Partners: China, Russia
Status: Deal signed

In June 2019, the China National Chemical Engineering Group and Russian firm Neftegazholding signed a deal on developing the Payakha oilfield, promising investment of US$5 billion over four years.

This is Russia and China’s second Arctic Silk Road energy project after Yamal. Payakha lies on the Taymyr peninsula in the region of Krasnoyarsk. According to reports, the project includes the construction of six crude oil processing facilities, a crude oil port capable of handling 50 million tonnes a year, 410 kilometres of pressurized oil pipelines, a 750-megawatt power station and an oil storage facility.

Zarubino port

Partners: China, Russia
Status: Deal signed, progressing

Located just southwest of Vladivostok and close to the Chinese border, the port of Zarubino is ice free year-round. In 2014, the government of Jilin province, the China Merchants Group and Russia’s largest port operator signed a framework deal to develop Zarubino into the biggest port in northeast Asia over 18 years, with capacity to handle 60 million tonnes of goods a year. Railways linking the port with inland regions of China will also be built.

In September 2018, as the first stage of this project, a shipping route started running from Hunchun on the Tumen river in Jilin to Zarubino and then on to Zhoushan in Zhejiang province. The new Zarubino port will strengthen links between northeast China and the rest of the world, and aid development in Russia’s far east. It will also be a key link on the northeast passage trade route to Europe.

Arkhangelsk deepwater port

Partners: China, Russia
Status: Planning

Arkhangelsk is the largest city on Russia’s northern coast, situated on the country’s European side close to Finland. The new deepwater port has been planned for over a decade. It will be located 55 kilometres from Arkhangelsk on the island of Mud’yug, which lies in the Dvina river delta close to existing port infrastructure. Linking up with Russia’s railway network, the port will help develop a combined sea–land transportation system, and improve links to Siberia.

The local government predicts the new port and associated railways will create 40,000 jobs in the region. According to one expert, the China Poly Group signed an agreement of intent in 2016, earmarking investment of 550 million yuan (US$79 million). The China Ocean Shipping Company has also made its interest in the project clear.

China–Finland Arctic Monitoring and Research Centre

Partners: China, Finland
Status: Deal signed

In April 2018, China’s Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth signed an agreement with Finland’s Arctic Space Centre to establish a new monitoring and research centre for the polar region. The facility, based in northern Finland’s Sodankylä, will collect, process and share satellite data, providing an open international platform to support climate research, environmental monitoring and Arctic navigation.

The centre will contribute to China’s “Digital Silk Road” plan, which aims to create a spatial information system for regions covered by the BRI. It will also promote the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ “Global Three Poles Environment” project, which aims to better understand global climate change.

The project was inaugurated in October 2018.

China–Iceland Arctic Science Observatory

Partners: China, Iceland
Status: Operating since late 2018

In October 2018, the China–Iceland Arctic Science Observatory was officially opened in the city of Karholl in northern Iceland.

Set up to monitor climate and environmental change in the Arctic, the observatory is managed by the Polar Research Institute of China and Iceland’s Institute of Research Centres. It can accommodate 15 people and will also be open to researchers from third countries.

The partnership started in 2012 when the two governments signed a deal on Arctic cooperation. That year also saw a memorandum of understanding signed between organisations from the two countries on a joint aurora observatory. Plans were expanded in 2017, with work at the observatory now covering the atmosphere, the oceans, glaciers, geophysics, remote sensing and biology.

Zhang Chun is a senior researcher at China Dialogue. This article appears courtesy of China Dialogue Ocean and may be found in its original form here.

China's "Arctic Silk Road"

If actions to mitigate climate change are not taken and global temperatures conti...

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[JSCh]

Между нами сломан лёд: арктический газовоз завершает уникальный рейс по Северному морскому пути

Feb 16, 2021

Росатом

Традиционно транзитная навигация в восточном секторе Арктики завершается в ноябре и вновь открывается только в июле. Но 5 января 2021 года судоходной компанией «Совкомфлот» в интересах компании «НОВАТЭК» при участии Росатома был начат самый поздний в истории арктической навигации высокоширотный рейс. Сейчас танкер-газовоз «Кристоф де Маржери» находится на завершающем этапе выполнения экспериментального кругового рейса: из Сабетты Ямало-Ненецкого автономного округа в китайский Цзянсу и обратно. Судно движется под проводкой атомохода «50 лет Победы» к западу от мыса Дежнёва. Впервые крупнотоннажное грузовое судно совершает переход по Северному морскому пути в феврале. Танкер успешно преодолел акватории трех морей – Чукотского, Восточно-Сибирского и Лаптевых. Поздний рейс стал возможен благодаря многолетней системной работе Совкомфлота и Новатэка по развитию транзитного потенциала Севморпути. В настоящее время Атомфлот завершил разработку технического задания на создание Штаба Единого диспетчерского центра управления (ЕДЦУ) плаванием судов на Севморпути. Он позволит оптимизировать маршруты движения судов и расстановку атомных ледоколов в акватории Северного морского пути. В 2020 году по Севморпути было транспортировано почти 33 млн тонн грузов. В соответствии с указом Президента РФ к 2024 году грузопоток по Севморпути должен быть увеличен до 80 млн тонн в год. Решить поставленную задачу возможно за счет увеличения периода арктической навигации. Видео: Совкомфлот

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Ice breaks between us: Arctic LNG carrier completes unique voyage along the Northern Sea Route
Feb 16, 2021

Rosatom
76.5K subscribers

Traditionally, transit navigation in the eastern sector of the Arctic ends in November and reopens only in July. But on January 5, 2021, the Sovkomflot shipping company, in the interests of NOVATEK, with the participation of Rosatom, launched the latest high-latitude voyage in the history of Arctic navigation. Now the gas tanker Christophe de Margerie is at the final stage of an experimental circular voyage: from Sabetta of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug to Chinese Jiangsu and back.

The vessel is navigating under the guidance of the nuclear-powered icebreaker "50 Let Pobedy" to the west of Cape Dezhnev. For the first time, a large-capacity cargo ship makes the transition along the Northern Sea Route in February. The tanker successfully crossed the waters of three seas - Chukotka, East Siberian and Laptev. The late voyage became possible thanks to the many years of systematic work by Sovcomflot and Novatek to develop the transit potential of the Northern Sea Route.

At present, Atomflot has completed the development of the terms of reference for the creation of the Headquarters of the Unified Dispatch Control Center (UDCU) for navigation of vessels on the Northern Sea Route. It will make it possible to optimize the routes of vessel traffic and the placement of nuclear icebreakers in the water area of the Northern Sea Route. In 2020, almost 33 million tons of cargo were transported along the Northern Sea Route. In accordance with the decree of the President of the Russian Federation, by 2024 the cargo traffic along the Northern Sea Route should be increased to 80 million tons per year. It is possible to solve this problem by increasing the period of Arctic navigation.

Video: Sovcomflot