Arctic research station to start operating ( 2004-01-14 22:42) (China Daily)
China's first Arctic scientific research station
is expected to start operating this March in Ny-Alesund on Norway's Spitzbergen
Archipelago.
The station will focus on oceanography, meteorology, space physics, geology
and biology research as well as investigations on local mineral and biological
resources, said Wang Fei, spokesman with the State Oceanographic Administration.
A northern hemisphere country, China has undertaken Arctic studies to better
understand climatic and environmental changes in its territory. Many of these,
such as sand storms and prolonged droughts, are believed to have roots in the
Arctic.
China will be the eighth member of the "Ny-Alesund club."
A German group first built a station there in the early 1990s, Wang said.
Besides Norway and Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Japan and the Republic of
Korea have established stations in Ny-Alesund for Arctic research.
Without any permanent population and because of its strict control over the
use of radio waves, Ny-Alesund is widely regarded as ideal for scientific
research.
The station, located at 78.55 degrees North and 11.56 degrees East on
Ny-Alesund, is a two-story building with a total area of about 500 square
metres. It can accommodate 20 to 25 researchers.
Although the station is already built, the official start of operations was
held back during the polar night, which normally starts in late October and ends
at the end of February.
The 7.13 million yuan station (US$870,000) is expected to cost more than 6
million yuan (US$731,000) per year to operate, said Qu Tanzhou, director of the
Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Office of the administration.
Qu also said yesterday that the National Development and Reform Commission
has just endorsed an ambitious plan to further step up the country's polar
scientific research.
In addition to the Arctic station, said Qu, the office will upgrade two
existent scientific bases -- Great Wall and Zhongshan -- in the Antarctic,
renovate the Snow Dragon ice breaker, China's only polar scientific research
ship, and construct a special dock and research base for the ship in East
China's Shanghai.
The total cost of the plan, likely to be completed by 2005, is 860 million
yuan (US$104.9 million).
It is not yet known how many scientist will work there.
The only certainty is that 39-year-old Yang Huigen, vice-director of the
Shanghai-based Polar Research Institute of China, will be assigned as the first
director of the station.
"Our preliminary plan is to have different scientists come to stay at the
station for specific projects," Yang said.
Yang said the international atmosphere in Ny-Alesund will help Chinese
scientists make "fast progress" in Arctic research. "We are looking forward to
friendly and productive co-operation with foreign scientists in the area," he
said.
The administration is publicly soliciting names for the new Arctic station.
All those interested can submit their suggestions at www.sina.com.cn.
