The International Symposium on Polar Science and its Interaction with Global Environmental Change was held by Wuhan University and the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration from 11th November to 12th November 2014. This symposium is organized by the Chinese Antarctic Center of Surveying and Mapping that is engaged in the research of polar science and its interaction with global environmental changewith the support of Wuhan University, which is a leading Chinese university in disciplines such as modern geodesy, remote sensing and geographical information. The symposium celebrated 30 years of the Chinese polar surveying and mapping development.
The whole symposium was divided in 4 sessions: keynote presentations, polar geodesy and geophysics, polar remote sensing and polar environment. It lasted two days. Hongbing Shu, the Vice-President of Wuhan University delivered a speech on behalf of Wuhan University at the beginning of the first session. He extended his welcome to all the delegates and experts from across the world and summarized the Chinese research results on polar science, where a major contributor is Wuhan University. At last, he emphasized the importance of research on environmental change in the polar region and expressed his wish for a successful symposium. Vice President Fei Li made a keynote speech on Wuhan University’s research progress on surveying and mapping in polar region.
The symposium not only focused on the results and the latest development in the theory, technology and application of polar science, but also encouraged the participants to exchange their innovative thoughts. During the symposium, there was a youth forum opened for young scholars to communicate their opinions on polar science. It is reported there were more than 100 delegates and experts from the United States, Germany, Norway, Australia, India and Russia attending the symposium. Notably, Wuhan University had also successfully held the International Symposium on Geographic Information System of Southeast Pole in 2004.
Wuhan University plays a significant part in every Antarctic expedition since the research first started in China. The research outcomes have been recognized as world-class level and ranks high in Chinese colleges and universities. Since 1984, Wuhan University has sent over 100 researchers to Antarctic and the Arctic for scientific expeditions. Dongchen E, Professor at Wuhan University and the director of the Chinese Antarctic Center, was the pioneer of polar surveying and mapping for Wuhan University. He participated in 11 expeditions to the polar regions.
Wuhan University has also set up multiple research institutes such as the Chinese Antarctic Center of Surveying and Mapping, the Key Laboratory of Polar Surveying and Mapping Science and the Laboratory of Polar Surveying and Mapping, Remote Sensing and Global Environmental Change in cooperation with the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration and the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geo-information. These institutes are regarded as important platforms for the Chinese polar scientific expedition and research.
(Edited by Diana & Sijia Hu)
