The Pace Of China’s Science Investigation In The Antarctic

Chinas 30th expedition team in the Antarctic has set out in November， 2013， and will build up the forth investigation station——Taishan Station in Princess Elizabeth Land. To this end we had an exclusive interview with Li Yuansheng， the deputy director of the Polar Research Institute of China.

Li Yuansheng is now a researcher of the Polar Research Institute of China. He graduated from Nanjing University in 1982， majored in Geochemistry. Since July，1995， he entered the Polar Research Institute of China， worked in the research of the polar ice snow chemistry and the ice cores climate. From 1996 to 2013， he has been to the Antarctic 10 times， carried out 7 tasks of inland ice cover exploration， and carried one task of investigating the Emory Ice cover of Antarctic. In 2005， the Chinese expedition team in the Antarctic climbed to the summit of Dome A for the first time. In 2009， he led the team in building the Kunshan Station successfully. Otherwise， he has also carried out the Antarctic investigation task 2 times as leader an vice leader.

Journalist： Could you please talk about whats your feeling about your first time to the Antarctic？

Li Yuansheng： My first time to the Antarctic was for Japans 38th expedition team in the “shirase” for Japans expedition in the Antarctic. I joined in their Dome F inland ice cover investigation team， went to the Dome F station of the Antarctic inland， for investigation of glaciology and the deep core drilling.

The first thing I did in the Antarctic was to base a snow wall on the flat ground. We based a wall in the vertical direction of the wind and put our baggage there. We could also rest under the wall during working. The most impressive thing for me was the wind with snow. At that season， the wind was not very big but bone chilling， the snow in wind could bury the bags in a short while. It was like in the wild all around， we felt as abandoned by the society， we were lonely. These are my feelings the first time on the ice cover of the Antarctic.

Journalist： Whats your most unforgettable experience in the Antarctic？

Li Yuansheng： I have been to the Antarctic for many times， there are many unforgettable experiences. Every time I went there， new jobs and new risks were waiting for me. They were all valuable in my life. For instance， our team started the first sea ice discharge in our countrys investigation in the Antarctic. That time I drove a snowmobile dragging an overloaded sled， almost broke the ice and fell in the sea. Another example， we climbed up to the summit of Dome A relying on our wisdom， perseverance and decisive judgment. The whole task might fail if any part was not considered. If that task was failed， our country wouldnt have built up the Kunlun station and carried on a series of investigation activities.