China’s 41st Antarctic expedition marked a significant milestone as the world’s first multinational joint expedition specifically focusing on Antarctic autumn ecosystems.
This pioneering expedition was initiated by the Oceanography Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. It brought together nearly 50 scientists from nine countries, including China, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Their primary mission was to comprehensively study the Ross Sea ecosystem, a region recognized for its high biological productivity within the Southern Ocean.
The researchers faced incredibly challenging conditions, including intense “Screaming Sixties” winds and temperatures plummeting to as low as -28°C. Despite these harsh environmental factors, they managed to conduct 20 consecutive days of scientific observations, leveraging the capabilities of China’s powerful Xuelong 2 icebreaker to penetrate deep into ice-covered areas.
One of the most surprising findings from the expedition was the discovery of high krill populations despite low primary productivity in the autumn. This observation led to a crucial question for future research: identifying the energy sources that sustain these organisms and the broader upper food web through the long, dark polar winter when primary productivity is minimal.
The success of this groundbreaking autumn expedition has not only expanded scientific possibilities in polar research but also paved the way for more ambitious future endeavors, including potential winter expeditions with upcoming icebreakers like Xuelong 3 and 4.
China’s 41st Antarctic expedition was a groundbreaking multinational joint mission, notable for being the world’s first such expedition to focus on Antarctic autumn ecosystems. The expedition involved 91 participants from nine countries, including China, Australia, South Korea, the United States, Malaysia, Norway, Thailand, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
The mission, which utilized China’s icebreaker Xuelong-2, covered a 208-day, 40,000-nautical-mile journey. From March 27 to April 15, 2005 researchers conducted a 20-day field survey, completing marine investigations at 24 sampling stations across four transects. They braved challenging conditions, with temperatures as low as -28°C, and collected over 5,000 samples, including water columns, membrane filtrates, sediment cores, biological specimens, and sea ice.
Key scientific achievements and focuses included:
Systematic Study of Trophic Levels: Researchers completed the world’s first systematic study of key Antarctic trophic levels—including zooplankton, Antarctic krill, mesopelagic fish, seabirds, and marine mammals—during the critical autumn freeze-up period. This provided new insights into how polar organisms adapt to extreme low-light winter conditions and how carbon is transported into the deep ocean during ice formation.
Unexpected Discoveries: The expedition observed surprisingly high krill populations despite low primary productivity, with the upper food web remaining relatively active during this dark season. A key question for future research is identifying the energy sources that sustain these organisms through the long polar winter.
Technological Advancements: The Xuelong-2 icebreaker demonstrated its capability to penetrate deep into ice-covered areas, expanding the possibilities for scientific observation in extreme environments.
International Cooperation: The expedition highlighted deep international and interdisciplinary collaboration in polar research.
Broader Goals: Beyond the autumn ecosystem study, the 41st expedition also involved building supporting infrastructure for China’s Qinling Station in Antarctica, conducting overwintering research missions, and utilizing cutting-edge drills to gather data on ice sheet evolution and ancient ocean environments. The expedition also contributed to monitoring space debris.
The successful completion of this expedition expands scientific understanding of Antarctic ecosystems during a previously understudied period and paves the way for more ambitious polar research, including potential winter expeditions with future icebreakers. https://www.facebook.com/jeff.mah.5/videos/1236705894511339/?__cft__[0]=AZUBYhXQc9YUCu8E0jL3zThuTvAk4XnlkhdCqbio1aHqvCwpvjl5C1esoFDxWtJfAeLuey7PSI1BdM3fYYpkwJd0sYDZNi5kHzDTJx6wmrMGSm0sHl2AQLgF6qdzJJkH1fL0XOhHDMadtTNWWvcL_Bxm&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R