Xuelong icebreaker conducts deep-sea research on China's 42nd Antarctic expedition

China's research icebreaker Xuelong, or the Snow Dragon, arrived at the first station of its 42nd Antarctic expedition in Amundsen Sea on January 24. Within the planned 18-day stay in the South Pole, the vessel will complete operations at more than 20 stations.

At 1 a.m., the Xuelong reached its first oceanographic station in the Amundsen Sea. Crew members aboard immediately began deploying a conductivity, temperature and depth (CTD) instrument into the sea to measure salinity and temperature at various depths of seawater.

The first station, with a depth exceeding 4,000 meters, represents the deepest area among all stations.

At an average deployment speed of 60 meters per minute, lowering the equipment from the sea surface to the seafloor alone requires more than an hour.

After all 24 water bottles on the CTD device completed sampling, it was hoisted back into the sampling room. Then, the research team sprang into action. Based on the corresponding depths of each bottle, they swiftly filled various containers with the required seawater samples and immediately transported them to the laboratory for pretreatment.

"We collect samples from every layer of the sea. The pH value serves as a crucial indicator of seawater acidity, making it an essential parameter for studying ocean acidification," said Qin Jie, a member of the ocean team on board the Xuelong.

"My research focuses on greenhouse gas concentrations in seawater, requiring samples from all water layers," said Lan Kexin, another team member.

"I study microplankton in the water, primarily their abundance and species composition, which also necessitates samples from all water layers," said Han Zheyi, one of the other team members.

After completing the water sampling operations, the team promptly proceeded to conduct a series of additional tasks, including biological vertical trawling, krill trawling, midwater fish trawls and gravity core deployments.