Contribute to the peaceful use of the polar lands

When Looking at the blue earth from space, the most fascinating thing is the South Pole and the North Pole. With the rapid development of science and technology in the past hundred years, the polar lands at the northern and southern ends of the Earth, namely the North and South Poles, that is, the Arctic and Antarctic regions, are being recognized and understood more and more deeply by people. Presently, the whole world is going through a great change. The Antarctic ice sheet is melting rapidly, sea ice is shrinking, ice shelves are collapsing, ocean currents are changing, fish resources are depleting and the ozone layer is being destroyed. These changes are having great impact on global energy balance, atmospheric circulation, water cycle, ocean circulation, sea level change, Southern Ocean ecosystem and biodiversity and human society development etc.

Antarctic research is related to the well-being of the whole world and all mankind. There is a need to coordinate related research work within the framework of the Antarctic Treaty. It requires humans to protect the Antarctic’s natural environment so that it cannot be polluted by human activities, and to allow scientists to freely use the Antarctic to explore nature’s unsolved mysteries.

The Antarctic Treaty, signed on 1 December 1959, is a landmark event in the history of Antarctic expeditions and international Antarctic affairs. The Antarctic Treaty covers all areas south of the Antarctic Complex, an area of ​​more than 65 million square kilometres, including oceans, sea ice, islands, land and ice sheets, the atmosphere and the upper atmosphere. According to the Antarctic Treaty, the Antarctic is to be used only for peaceful purposes. The goals of the Antarctic Treaty are to enhance international cooperative scientific investigation in the Antarctic region. Till date more than 40 countries have signed this treaty. On October 7, 1985, China became a member of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Countries. “Contributing to the peaceful use of Antarctica (the polar lands) by mankind” is the basic national policy and long-term policy of China’s polar scientific expedition.

On November 20, 1984, China’s first Antarctic expedition team left Shanghai. The members of the team embarked on a historic journey on board the Oceanographic Expedition Ship “Xiangyanghong No. 10”. After that, the members of the Chinese scientific expedition team, who landed on the Antarctic continent for the first time, worked day and night, braving wind and ice. He established China’s first Antarctic research expedition station “Antarctic Great Wall Station” in just 27 days and created a miracle in the history of Antarctic expeditions. On 15 February 1985, China became the eighteenth country to establish a scientific research station in Antarctica, with the establishment of the “Antarctic Great Wall Station”. This opened a new chapter in China’s scientific research and peaceful use of Antarctica.

Subsequently, in order to enhance Antarctic scientific investigation and peaceful use, China successively established three other Antarctic research expedition stations, including Zhongshan Station, Kunlun Station and Taishan Station. In the past few years, Chinese scientists have made continuous and intensive research in the fields of atmospheric science, space science, geological science, biological science, polar glaciers and sea ice, marine science, surveying and mapping, satellite remote and application of new technology achievements, etc. Traveled to Antarctica. They collected large numbers of samples and data and obtained more successful results with great scientific value. In geological research, he deepens the understanding of the transformation and evolution of the East Antarctic crust through the study of the Pan-African tectonic movement.

In the area of ​​ecological research, he combined studies of ecology and environmental climate change and obtained rare specimens of benthic fauna. In addition, he completed the survey of organic pollutants in marine areas and the study of the development of their microorganisms. He obtained a large number of ecological, biological, microbial samples, scientific data and valuable information. In the research field on the Sun and Earth’s space environment, he made medium-long-term observations and discovered and proved more important phenomena, including the afternoon aurora. From observations of upper atmosphere physics, he obtained complete observational data of the sunspot cycle.

In the research area on Antarctic modern environmental evolution, he creatively proposed a new method to study the evolution of important biological populations at the Antarctic millennium scale using geochemically specific element assemblages.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said that polar scientific research is an important area to explore the mysteries of nature and find new areas for development. The Antarctic Scientific Expedition is of great importance. China’s Antarctic expedition contributes to the peaceful use of the Antarctic by mankind.

If all countries, including China, want to make better peaceful use of the polar lands, they need to strengthen international cooperation in Antarctic research and strengthen related contacts and communications between countries. There is a need for stable financial support, stable teams of scientists and engineers, and application of new technologies. There is a need to strengthen the protection and use of Antarctic territories. For this the following three suggestions have been given. First, all parties must uphold the Antarctic Treaty System. They should use the Antarctic only for peaceful purposes. They should increase the freedom of scientific expeditions in the Antarctic region and increase international cooperation and exchange in scientific expeditions. Second, all parties should keep activities in the Antarctic to a minimum for the benefit of environmental protection and scientific research. Third, all parties should enhance publicity and education on Antarctic science and environmental protection. They should inspire people to “love Antarctica and protect the Earth” by connecting climate change, Antarctic research and its impact on human society.

(Credits – China Media Group, Beijing)

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