A side note of China's Arctic scientific research "base camp", where the sun is still dazzling! 79 degrees north latitude, midnight
In June, the sun was still dazzling even at midnight in Ny-Ålesund. This small town on the Svalbard Islands in Norway is located at 79 degrees north latitude. It is one of the northernmost settlements on Earth and a well-known polar "scientific research site" in the scientific community.
In July 2004, a pair of Chinese stone lions "settled" in Ny-Ålesund, marking the official establishment of China's first Arctic scientific research station, the Yellow River Station. Over the past 20 years, the Yellow River Station has always been the "base camp" for China's Arctic scientific research. A total of more than 660 Chinese scientists have come here to conduct research and experiments in many fields such as glaciers, land, oceans, and the atmosphere, contributing "Chinese power" to studying the polar regions and responding to climate change.
China is a "near-Arctic country" in terms of geography, and is one of the countries closest to the Arctic Circle on land. In 1925, China joined the Spitsbergen Treaty. According to the treaty, China has the right to freely enter and exit specific areas of the Arctic, and enjoys equal rights to conduct scientific research, production and commercial activities in the specific areas in accordance with the law. In 1999, the "Xuelong" polar research ship went to the Arctic for the first time to carry out scientific research missions. In July 2004, with the active efforts of all parties, China's first scientific research station in the Arctic region, the Yellow River Station, was built in New Alesund.
"The Yellow River Station is the 'base camp' for our Arctic scientific research. Since its establishment in 2004, the Yellow River Station has supported scientific observation, monitoring and research in various professional fields including glaciology, terrestrial ecology, marine ecology, space physics, atmosphere and geographic information. The Yellow River Station has provided important guarantees for my country's polar research, and has also played an important role in helping Chinese scientists understand, protect and utilize the Arctic." Hu Zhengyi, director of the Yellow River Station, told reporters.
According to Hu Zhengyi, by the end of 2023, the Yellow River Station has supported more than 250 business and scientific research projects and ensured that more than 660 scientific expedition personnel will go to the station for scientific investigations. Through the Yellow River Station and the Xuelong and Xuelong 2 ship stations, China has gradually established a multidisciplinary observation system for glaciers, oceans, atmosphere, biology, geology, etc. in the Arctic region, covering scientific research, ecological environment, climate change and other fields.
Professor Kim Holmen, special adviser to the Norwegian Polar Institute, can still recall the scene when the Yellow River Station was established in 2004. He is an "old friend" of the Yellow River Station and even participated in the preparatory meeting before the station was built. In the 20 years since the Yellow River Station was built, he has become close friends with many Chinese scientists who came to the Yellow River Station for scientific research, and has carried out extensive exchanges and cooperation to jointly study how to respond to climate change.
"The Chinese scientists who come to the Yellow River Station to conduct scientific research are very hardworking, well-educated, gentle and modest. They have made outstanding contributions to polar research." Holmen said that he and his colleagues at the Norwegian Polar Institute are happy to have academic discussions with Chinese scientists. "Climate change is happening fastest and most dramatically in the Arctic. I believe that through joint research with Chinese scientists, we can predict possible climate change in other parts of the world, which is crucial to scientific research and the fate of mankind."
Professor Zhao Hongying from the School of Chemical Science and Engineering of Tongji University, who is currently stationed at the Yellow River Station, told reporters that she is working on an international cooperation project led by Tongji University. "My experimental mission this time in the Arctic is to detect and trace the microplastics in the ocean and atmosphere in the Arctic region." She introduced that many Chinese researchers in the fields of environment, oceanography, chemistry and other disciplines have participated in polar research projects, and the polar experimental platform built by the Yellow River Station is very important for related research. "If there is no platform at the Yellow River Station, I may not be able to successfully complete the experiment in the polar region."
"We often go to China for academic exchanges and we also welcome our Chinese partners to come to Ny-Ålesund. We have a very good cooperation and the Yellow River Station is a very important platform." Professor Geir Gabrielsen, head of ecotoxicology at the Norwegian Polar Institute, who is involved in the above-mentioned international cooperation project, said that they look forward to communicating with more Chinese scientists who come to the Yellow River Station for scientific research.
Unexpected dangers and “day-to-day” work
Polar expeditions are accompanied by danger and hardship. Just 20 to 30 meters outside the Yellow River Station, there is a warning sign that reads "Polar Bear Danger," requiring people to carry guns before leaving the town of Ny-Ålesund.
Wu Xiaohan, a member of the expedition team and a doctoral student at Tongji University, told reporters that on June 15, shortly after she arrived at the Yellow River Station, she saw a polar bear warning issued by the New Alesund management: a polar bear was active on an island less than 1 km away from the Yellow River Station, which could pose a threat to the personal safety of the expedition members at any time. On June 25, another polar bear appeared in a similar location. "I never thought that danger would be so close to me."
In addition to the polar bears that appear from time to time, cracks in the glaciers, icebergs in the ocean, and sudden blizzards all pose a threat to the physical health and life safety of the scientific expedition team members.
The intensity of scientific research is also a big challenge. The reporter went to the glacier with Hu Zhengyi to collect samples. It took more than 7 hours to go back and forth, and they only walked to the nearest observation sampling station. Hu Zhengyi told reporters that if you go to the farthest glacier sampling point, it may take more than 10 hours to walk more than 20 kilometers. There is no distinction between day and night in the Arctic in summer. It is polar day 24 hours a day. Sometimes you set out in the morning, and although the sun is still high when you return, it is already two or three in the morning.
"Although it's hard, tiring and dangerous, when I finish work and return to the station, I see the sign of the Yellow River Station at the door and the bright five-star red flag in the conference room, and I feel that my sweat for China's polar scientific research is worth it." Hu Zhengyi told reporters that the 20 years since the establishment of the Yellow River Station have also been 20 years of continuous development and breakthroughs in China's polar scientific research. In recent years, the country's investment in the Yellow River Station has continued to increase, and various experimental instruments and equipment have gradually reached the international advanced level. "I firmly believe that the future of the Yellow River Station will be better, and the prospects for China's polar scientific research will be brighter."
