China's 35th Antarctic expedition team entered the Antarctic Circle days ahead of schedule on Friday, thanks to new technologies.
The team's icebreaker Xuelong, or "Snow Dragon," entered the dense ice floe area on the afternoon of November 28, and its speed dropped significantly. Unlike the drift ice encountered previously, the ice layers in the area are significantly thicker, with many of them reaching one meter thick at night. Xuelong moved carefully through the gaps between the ice, sometimes by breaking the ice.
"The situation of sea ice is beyond our control. The ice is big and thick on the whole, so it is difficult for us to break the ice. We are moving at a relatively slow speed, now about 3 to 5 knots," said Shen Quan, captain of Xuelong.
China's research icebreaker Xuelong, also known as the Snow Dragon, travels in a floating ice area in the Southern Ocean on November 29, 2018. /Xinhua Photo
As morning approached, the thick ice was gradually replaced by a thin layer, which is no problem for Xuelong with an ice-breaking capacity of 1.2 meters.
After a tough night of sailing, Xuelong entered the Antarctic Circle. According to some team members who have participated in Antarctic expeditions before, this year's sailing has been relatively stable thanks to the help of new technologies. With the help of real-time information on ice conditions and meteorological and other cloud maps provided by Chinese meteorological departments, Xuelong skillfully crossed the westerly belt, avoiding offshore cyclones.
"The satellite cloud map is now monitored in real time. When I see the sea ice conditions, I can download them, and the steps are very simple. In the past, we had access to only one sea ice atlas for a day," said Shen.
According to the original plan, Xuelong was due to arrive at China's Zhongshan Antarctic scientific research station on Monday and carry out unloading operations. However, thanks to the efficient selection of the navigation route, it will reach the operation area earlier than scheduled, gaining extra time for the intense unloading work.
Penguins at the Prydz Bay in Antarctica, November 30, 2018. /Xinhua Photo
"Xuelong has given us three extra days, which adds up to 14 days. Within this limited time, we have to unload 1,621 tons of goods and materials from the ship to Antarctica safely," said Sun Bo, leader of the team.
Sun also said that Antarctica is fickle, as the weather, the sea and the ice could change at any time. There is a dangerous ice-covered area around the fixed ice near the Zhongshan Station, adding uncertainty to the unloading operation.
(Source: CCTV+)
(Top image: Staff members work on a KA32 helicopter that is prepared for the unloading operations on China's research icebreaker Xuelong, on November 29, 2018. /Xinhua Photo)