When picturing the image of the Antarctic, people tend to think of glacier and quirky penguins. For most of us, it sounds cool and adventurous to be a scientist and do research in the Antarctic. Three scientists from Wuhan University participated in the 32nd Antarctic scientific expedition and came back home. Tthey told us it was “cool” in the Antarctic, physically and literally.

Two researchers stood on the glacier in the Antarctic 

Kunlun Station

Ke Hao is a lecturer from Chinese Antarctic Centre of Surveying and Mapping. This is his second science expedition in the Antarctic, so he was not unfamiliar with the harsh environment there. However, it was no less challenging. “My destination this time was Kunlun Station.” Kunlun Station is one of the coldest place in the world, with temperature occasionally reaching −80 °C (−112 °F) in the winter, even in the summer, the highest temperature is between - 30 °C and  - 40°C. In addition, at 4087m above sea level, Kunlun Station is the highest among all research stations. High altitude, along with a lack of vegetation makes altitude sickness not uncommon among researchers, and altitude sickness can be very serious in Kunlun Station due to the fact that it could take weeks to get out of the Antarctic hinterland and receive proper medical treatment. “To prevent accidents from happening, we go to Tibet for adaptive training every year before we sail for the Antarctic. ”

Monitoring Southern Ocean Ecosystem

The primary task for Ke Hao this time is to inspect and monitor the bench-marking. Wuhan University has installed bench-marking in the Antarctic for the purpose of monitoring the movement of the ice sheet through GPS developed by WHU itself, and every year researchers from WHU will go to the Antarctic to inspect the bench-marking. “By comparing the data about the velocity and direction of the ice sheet movement each year, we can estimate the dynamics and changes in Southern Ocean ecosystem.” said Ke Hao. The research is significant because the decrease in the ice sheet in size equals the amount of water melted into the Southern Ocean, and the rise of sea level as a result is vital for research in global environment.

Two researchers are gauging and surveying for mapping the Antarctic 

Selfie with snowmobile

A landmark in Antarctic research: Snow Eagle 601

Besides this, Ke Hao also participated in the locating of Snow Eagle 601, the first fixed-wing aircraft for the use in Antarctic research expeditions to facilitate aviation support. “The development of Snow Eagle 601 marks a huge step forwards in Chinese history of Antarctic expedition. ” Currently, the main transportation methods for Antarctic expedition are limited to icebreaker and snowmobile, and it took a month and a half for a round trip from the coast to the hinterland Kunlun Station, limiting the length of time for actual research. With the fixed-wing aircraft, the future Antarctic expedition will be more economic and effective.

“We work as a team”

“We didn’t work by ourselves. The expedition team worked as a team, and we helped each other when we needed. ” Ke Hao said.  Beside daily research, he was also responsible for working out the logistics in Kunlun Station. “I remember once after dinner, we went out to help a scientist from Chinese Academy of Sciences to install selves. Standing in the open field with the Antarctic wind blowing, I was almost cold to tears.” Ke Hao smiled in retrospect of the adventures in the Antarctic. “Some of the easiest daily tasks can take forever to complete in the Antarctic. To tighten a screw, one has to take off his or her special gloves, tightening it with a bare hand, and one’s bare hand cannot withstand the coldness for more than a minute, so we have to take turns to have all the screws tightened. ”

The good news is research conditions, including communication system in the Polar Regions, have improved greatly in recent years and have met diverse needs of batch of researchers. The most relaxing moment for Ke Hao and some other researchers comes at night after work when they played the World of Warcraft together.

Chinese Antarctic Centre of Surveying and Mapping in Wuhan University is one of the leading Chinese institutions on surveying and mapping in Polar Regions. Founded in 1991, the center has sent more than 100 people to participate in China's polar research efforts - 32 in Antarctica and 12 in the Arctic region.

(Edited by Liu Yinglun & Hu Sijia)