China's Deep Sea Ambition, Technology, Expeditions: News & Updates

[JSCh]

China to compile historical data about South China Sea
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-21 23:13:36|Editor: yan



GUANGZHOU, June 21 (Xinhua) -- A project was launched Wednesday in China that will see researchers compile historical data obtained during expeditions to the South China Sea since the late 1950s.

Researchers will collect and compile valuable data and materials obtained during China's major ocean expeditions to the South China Sea and its affiliated islands and reefs, said Long Lijuan, deputy head of the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The project is one of the 14 resource investigation programs approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology this year.

A comparative analysis and research into the data will provide insight into the resources, environment and changes related to the South China Sea and its affiliated islands and reefs.

The project has the participation of 193 scholars from 10 domestic research institutions and universities, who specialize in fields such as marine life, ecology, fishery and geology.

Retired expedition members have been invited to assist the program to ensure the reliability and precision of the data.

 

[JSCh]

Global mission set for deep-diving sub
By Xie Chuanjiao and Zhao Lei in Qingdao, Shandong | China Daily | Updated: 2017-06-24 07:44

Year of exploration to take Jiaolong to the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans

China will begin a global deep-sea scientific exploration mission with its Jiaolong manned deep-sea submersible starting in 2020, an official from the State Oceanic Administration said as the sub returned home on Friday.

Sun Shuxian, deputy director of the administration, told reporters at a news conference on Friday that the mission will begin around June 2020 and last about one year. It will cover the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, he said.

The grand mission is intended to strengthen China's capability in surveying and researching the deep-sea environment and resources and will earn the nation a bigger say in this field, Sun said. The administration also regards it a gift for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China in July 2021, he said.

No country has carried out such an extensive exploration mission, Sun said.

The mission will use a new mother ship for the submersible. Construction will begin soon on the ship and it will be put into use in 2019, he said. The new vessel's displacement will be around 4,000 metric tons and it will be able to travel at least 11,000 kilometers during each journey, giving it greater capabilities than Jiaolong's current mother ship, Xiangyanghong 09.

The Xiangyanghong 09 returned to its home port, the National Deep-Sea Base in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Friday morning, concluding the nation's 38th oceanic expedition and the sub's five-year trial run.

During the 138-day expedition that began on Feb 6, the mother ship sailed nearly 34,000 kilometers to the South China Sea and the northwestern Indian and northwestern Pacific oceans, while Jiaolong conducted 30 dives, according to a news release from the administration.

Researchers from the State Oceanic Administration, Ministry of Education, Chinese Academy of Sciences and China Geological Survey had the Jiaolong collect 624.6 kilograms of seabed rocks, 5,968 liters of seawater as well as 2,115 marine creatures.

It made five dives each in the Mariana Trench, the world's deepest known trench, and Yap Trench, both in the western Pacific Ocean. These operations have enabled scientists to better understand the trenches' geochemical and biological conditions, according to the news release.

Yu Hongjun, head of the National Deep-Sea Base Management Center, said the recent expedition boosted China's efforts in exploring and developing seafloor mineral resources and its research in oceanography and marine biology.

Now, Jiaolong will receive a yearlong overhaul and technical upgrade before starting its formal operating period, which will involve travel farther from China and deeper in the ocean and include more dives each year, he said.

Liu Feng, an official from the China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association, under Sun's administration, said the country is also doing preliminary research on the construction of a manned deep-sea station that, initially, would be able to remain up to 15 days at a depth of 1,000 meters with 12 crew members.

Named after a mythical dragon, Jiaolong is China's first manned deep-sea research submersible. It was developed by Chinese designers starting 2002 and entered service in 2010, making China the fifth country with deep-sea exploration technology, after the United States, France, Russia and Japan.

During a test dive in June 2012, Jiaolong made its deepest dive - to 7,062 meters - in the Mariana Trench. During its trial run, the submersible made 152 dives.

 

[JSCh]

China to test underwater gliders, submersible in latest expedition
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-10 22:59:14|Editor: Liangyu



QINGDAO, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists will begin testing the country's self-developed underwater gliders and autonomous unmanned submersible in yet another maritime scientific expedition.

The equipment -- 12 gliders, one submersible, and a Raman spectrometer -- was loaded on the research vessel "Kexue" (Science), which left Qingdao in east Shandong Province Monday.

The program's lead scientist Sun Song said such devices demonstrate China's strong maritime research capability.

Sun said scientists would use the equipment in research of deep-water cold seeps in the South China Sea.

Cold seeps are located at the sea floor where hydrocarbon-rich fluid seepage occurs. Sun said the whole ecosystems at the cold seeps, where sunlight can not reach, is supported by hydrocarbons.

A deeper research into the cold seeps may reveal the secrets of the evolution of life on Earth, which could trace to the earliest ecosystems formed by microorganisms, Sun said.

From the South China Sea, the research ship will sail to Yap Trench for marine organism and ecology survey. It is scheduled to return to Qingdao in late September.

 

[JSCh]

Largest group of underwater gliders join latest expedition in South China Sea
(Xinhua) 15:00, July 23, 2017

File photo of research vessel "Kexue"​

A total of 12 Chinese-developed underwater gliders are carrying out scientific observations in the South China Seaand sending back real-time data, according to a briefing on the research vessel "Kexue" Saturday.

It is the largest group of gliders to perform simultaneous observations in the region.

Kexue left Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province last Monday for a maritime scientific expedition and stopped in Xiamen, southeast China to resupply Friday after completing the first part of the mission.

"The gliders have collected detailed maritime information, including temperature, salinity, turbidity, oxygen levels as well as the intensity and direction of currents," said Yu Jiancheng, a scientist with the program.

The 12 submersible devices will collect comprehensive ocean data over the next month, said Sun Song, another scientist with the program.

Underwater gliders are a new type of underwater robot featuring less energy consumption, higher efficiency and better endurance.

During the first stage of the mission, scientists also successfully placed three submersible buoys and conducted several diving missions.

Kexue will leave Xiamen on Sunday for the mission's second stage.

Kexue is China's most advanced, independently-made marine science expedition vessel. It was put into operation in April 2014. The 4,711-tonne vessel is capable of conducting deep and open sea exploration and research.

 

[JSCh]

Database of deep-sea bacteria built
By Hu Yuyan Source:Global Times Published: 2017/7/23 22:48:40

World’s largest collection to ‘help with marine research’

China has built the world's largest database of deep-sea bacteria amid the country's increasing efforts to promote oceanic study and conservation.

China has successfully split nearly 10,000 microbes and built the country's first collection of deep-sea bacteria, which carries 22,000 microbes and covers more than 3,400 species, Sun Shuxian, deputy director of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), said at a Saturday press conference, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

It is also the world's largest collection of deep-sea bacteria, Bai Shan, an official from the China Ocean Mineral Resource R&D Association, organizer of the press conference, told the Global Times on Sunday.

The government attaches great importance to deep-sea exploration, which is also receiving more and more attention from the general public, Bai added.

The collection provides a database for scientific research, primarily in marine biodiversity and evolution, and can also assist with the search for new compounds, which can be used in medical research, said Shao Zongze, director of SOA's Laboratory of Marine Genetic Resources.

However, it may still take 10 to 15 years for these deep-sea resources to be used in actual production of medicine, Shao noted.

According to Shao, the collection has been accumulated since 2003 and new bacteria have been added to the collection over time.

China is now among the leading countries in deep-sea exploration, especially in the collection of bacteria and the building of deep-sea research submersibles, Wang Yamin, an associate professor at the School of Ocean Biology of Shandong University, told the Global Times.

The progress China has made in the exploration and preservation of deep-sea biological resources has changed China's position in international research and development of the seafloor genetic resources, said Sun.

In the research on deep-sea organisms, the SOA has completed the species classification and evolution research of more than 100 marine microbes, marking important progress in the research on the functions and metabolic mechanisms of deep-sea microbes, Sun noted.

According to Sun, the SOA has also evaluated the potential value of more than 4,000 microbes in areas including marine medicine, biopesticide, environmental protection, biotechnologies and industrial enzyme, and has applied for more than 200 patents at home and abroad.

In oceanic expedition, China has formed a squad of submersibles: Jiaolong, Hailong and Qianlong. The manned submersible Jiaolong completed its 150th dive in June in the Yap Trench, Xinhua reported.

China is making progress in becoming a global maritime power, pushing forward technology and research on all fronts.

Haiyang Dizhi 10, or Ocean Geology 10, China's new domestically built marine geological survey vessel, made its debut on June 28, meaning that China has built a three-dimensional system for deep-sea exploration, Xinhua reported.

 

[JSCh]

China tests underwater robot in South China Sea
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-24 19:03:25|Editor: Song Lifang

Scientific researchers make preparation for the first experimental operation of the country's self-developed underwater robot in the South China Sea, July 24, 2017. It is expected to stay underwater for 20 hours. (Xinhua/Zhang Xudong)

ABOARD KEXUE, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese-developed underwater robot "Tansuo" conducted its maiden test dive in the South China Sea Monday.

The robot is 3.5 meters long and 1.5 meters wide and can dive to a depth of 4,500 meters. It will conduct 20 hours of collaborative operations with the unmanned submersible "Faxian" in the South China Sea.

Chinese research vessel "Kexue" left the port of Xiamen in eastern China's Fujian Province Sunday to continue its scientific expedition in the South China Sea.

During the second stage of its mission, the unmanned submersible will carry a domestically-developed device, a raman spectrometer, to measure marine physical and chemical parameters and take camera images of benthos organisms.

The Kexue left Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong Province on July 10 for a maritime scientific expedition and stopped in Xiamen to resupply Friday after completing the first part of the mission.

In the first stage, a total of 12 Chinese-developed underwater gliders carried out scientific observations in the South China Sea, sending back real-time data. It was the largest group of gliders to perform simultaneous observations in the region.

 

[JSCh]

China’s newest deep-sea submersible prepares for 4,500-meter dive
Source:Global Times Published: 2017/8/6 18:48:39

China's first domestically-made manned submersible will be tested at sea in mid-August and is expected to be put into use next year, media reported on Sunday.

Technicians for the submersible, capable of reaching a depth of 4,500 meters, are making final preparations before it enters the sea, said Ye Cong, deputy chief designer of the new submersible.

The submersible docked with its mother ship, Explorer, on Thursday, completing a three-day trip from Wuxi, Jiangsu Province to Guangzhou, China National Radios (CNR) reported on Sunday.

According to chief designer Hu Zhen, the submersible will be tested at 300, 1000 and 3,000 meters before diving to its maximum 4,500 meters.

Tests are expected to last three months.

The vessel, which has yet to be officially named, aims to meet China's ambitions to explore and develop the South China Sea, as well as carry out research of phenomenon such as hydrothermal vents and cold seep, Hu said.

Its sister submersible, the Jiaolong, is designed to explore international waters and reach depths of 7,000 meters.

While both are similar in appearance, the newest vessel is equipped with five observation windows, two more than its predecessor, and more efficient battery systems.

Hu said that 90 percent of the new vessel's core components were developed by Chinese scientists that were made in China.

China plans to build a manned deep-sea submersible capable of reaching 11,000 meters by 2020.

 

[JSCh]

Chinese scientists investigate Caroline seamount in western Pacific Ocean
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-14 15:05:51|Editor: Liangyu



ABOARD KEXUE, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists on Monday started to explore a seamount named Caroline in the west of the Pacific Ocean for the first time, as a remote operated vehicle (ROV) dived to collect videos, information and samples.

As part of the Caroline Ridge in the Pacific Ocean, the Caroline seamount is located in the south of the Mariana Trench, the deepest place on the Earth, and in the east of the Yap Trench, and it has never been explored.

The seamount is about 75 square km, five times larger than it appears in sea chart. Its top, an oval basin, is 28 meters below the sea surface, according to the statistic that the KEXUE (Science) scientific ship collected in the last two days.

The ROV will investigate the south side of the seamount to take videos and collect topographic information and biological samples, said Xu Kuidong, chief scientist aboard the ship and a researcher of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

"We see many sea gulls and flying fishes in this area, so we believe that this seamount is rich in biological diversities." Xu said.

Before this scientific voyage, Chinese scientists have investigated the other two seamounts in this area, and they will compare three seamounts in geology, biology and ecology.

"The distance between the two seamounts we investigated before is only 180 kilometers, but they have only 12 percent common biology," Xu said. "It's very interesting to find out what the Caroline has, the differences of the three seamounts and the reasons."

A seamount is a mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach the water's surface, and thus is not an island, islet or cliff-rock. Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abruptly and are usually found rising from the seafloor to 1,000-4,000 meters in height.

Interactions between seamounts and underwater currents, as well as their elevated position in the water, attract plankton, corals, fish, and marine mammals alike.

More than 30,000 seamounts have been mapped on the Earth, but only a few have been studied in detail by scientists.

 

[JSCh]

Chinese scientists investigate Caroline seamount in western Pacific Ocean
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-14 15:05:51|Editor: Liangyu



ABOARD KEXUE, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists on Monday started to explore a seamount named Caroline in the west of the Pacific Ocean for the first time, as a remote operated vehicle (ROV) dived to collect videos, information and samples.

 

[JSCh]

China's Discovery ROV collects samples in western Pacific Ocean
(Xinhua) 10:06, August 26, 2017

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Photo taken on Aug. 25, 2017 shows a yellow coral collected from the Caroline Seamount in the western Pacific Ocean. From Aug. 24 to 25, China''s remote operated vehicle (ROV) Discovery, carried by China''s Kexue (Science) research vessel, found coral forests and sponge field at east side of Caroline Seamount in the western Pacific Ocean. (Xinhua/Zhang Xudong)

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Photo taken on Aug. 25, 2017 shows a purple coral collected from the Caroline Seamount in the western Pacific Ocean.

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Photo taken on Aug. 25, 2017 shows a black coral collected from the Caroline Seamount in the western Pacific Ocean.

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Photo taken on Aug. 25, 2017 shows a red coral collected from the Caroline Seamount in the western Pacific Ocean.

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Photo taken on Aug. 25, 2017 shows a white coral collected from the Caroline Seamount in the western Pacific Ocean.

 

[JSCh]

Chinese research vessel sails for east Pacific
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-29 18:55:20|Editor: Xiang Bo



BEIJING, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese oceanographic research ship Xiangyanghong 06 set sail from the port of Qingdao Tuesday to conduct polymetallic nodule surveys in the east Pacific.

The country's 47th oceanic expedition is being carried out under an agreement signed by China Minmetals Corporation (CMC) and the International Seabed Authority in May this year, which granted China exclusive rights to search for polymetallic nodules in a 72,000-square-km area of the east Pacific over the next 15 years.

The expedition will survey polymetallic nodule distribution and geologic features, estimate resource amounts and select test mining areas.

The CMC is an important force in China's exploration and use of maritime mineral resources. The company's first maritime expedition will last around 90 days. A total of 26 scientists are on board.

 

[JSCh]

Report: China on track to finish deep ocean mining vessel
chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-09-07 15:26

China has completed the construction of the hull of the world's first deep ocean mining vessel, according to a report by The Times.

The 227-meter boat, upon completion, will be capable of working at depths of 2.5 km, carrying 45,000 tons of ore and staying at sea for more than five years at a time.

The Times said officials at Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding confirmed that the boat was on schedule to be completed and handed over to Canada-based Nautilus Minerals by 2018 to be used for mining operations off Papua New Guinea.

The company would not provide further details, the Times said, citing a news report in the local Fujian Evening News that the ship would be equipped with mining equipment, underwater robots, deck cranes and helicopter pads.

China has abundant mineral resources in the ocean, requiring deep sea technologies to excavate. The Times cited a report from the Ministry of Land and Resources that there are 88 billion tons of rare earth materials, a billion tons of cobalt, and three trillion tons of polymetallic nodules under the sea floor.

 

[JSCh]

Construction begins on exclusive carrying boat for Jiaolong
2017-09-18 13:13 Ecns.cn Editor: Mo Hong'e ECNS App Download

Jiaolong, China's manned submersible, is lowered for a dive on June 20, 2017. (Photo/Xinhua)

(ECNS) - Construction of the Shenhai No.1 (Deep Sea No. 1), the exclusive carrying vessel of China's first manned deep-sea submersible vessel "Jiaolong", began in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province, on Saturday, Guangming Daily reported.

Sun Shuxian, deputy director of the State Oceanic Administration, said at the opening ceremony that the building of Shenhai No.1 would allow the full play of the technical functions of Jiaolong, and improve the country's deep-sea research and investigation abilities.

Jiaolong, in service since 2010, can dive to depths of more than seven kilometers. The Xiangyanghong-9 transported Jiaolong almost half a world away from China to a remote area of the southwestern Indian Ocean from late 2014 to early 2015.

In 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission approved a plan to build the new carrying boat for Jiaolong, enabling it to dive more often and more efficiently, according to Liu Baohua, the Party secretary of the National Deep-Sea Base Management Center.

Shenhai No.1, to be constructed by Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group Co, would be 90.2 meters long and 16.8 meters wide. Its cruising ability would be more than 14,000 sea miles. Shenhai No.1 will also be outfitted to carry out maintenance on Jiaolong.

Work on the vessel is scheduled for completion by the end of August 2018, according to plans, and the vessel would be in service in March 2019, after water trials, the report said.

 

[Adam WANG SHANGHAI MEGA]

Collecting submarine and warship signals more likely。

Do you have any better things to do ?
CCP is trying its best to bring benifits to the entire chinese people I mean CCP does have many issues and problems but provocation is not its thing.More like US and Japs!

 

[SoulSpokesman]

PRC had an advanced gas hydrates and polymetallic nodules program. Any updates on that?

Regards