Lanzhou, January 21 (Xinhua) -- In 2017, Wang Feiteng, a researcher at the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, heard the concept of an icy snow track for the first time because of his participation in the Winter Olympics project of scientific and technological services. Although he has long been engaged in research related to glaciers, he does not know much about the requirements of the Winter Olympics for ski slopes and snow quality.
Ice and snow are the "soul" of the Winter Olympics. In 2022, China hosted the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games for the first time, adhering to the original intention of providing a good event experience for athletes around the world, and snow protection has become a problem that must be overcome.
In December 2021, Wang Feiteng (back row, fourth from left) conducted an ice-like snow track production trial at the National Alpine Ski Center. Courtesy of respondents
China's ice and snow scientific research started late, and there is little experience in holding international high-level ice and snow events for reference. In order to meet this challenge, in 2017, under the leadership of Qin Dahe, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and honorary director of the State Key Laboratory of Cryosphere Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China officially established the Beijing Winter Olympics Snow Guarantee Key Technology Research Team (hereinafter referred to as the "Snow Tackle Team").
The Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Normal University, the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Harbin Institute of Physical Education and Genting Ski Park and other scientific research institutions and related ski industry enterprises have participated in it to provide risk prevention and adverse meteorological conditions for the Winter Olympics, including building an ice-like snow track that belongs to the Chinese, developing efficient snow storage technology, and realizing green "freedom of snow use".
Ding Minghu, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, introduced that the ice-like snow track refers to a form of snow quality in the ski resort, which has a thin layer of hard ice shell on the surface, which is used to reduce the friction of the track surface for skis, which is equivalent to the "highway" of alpine skiing competitions and other projects. There are more ice and snow tracks abroad and the technology is mature, but there are relatively few in China.
According to reports, the snow density created by the snow machine is usually 0.1 grams to 0.4 grams per cubic centimeter, while the density of ice-like snow needs to reach 0.65 grams per cubic centimeter, and if it is greater than this density, the snow will become ice. The production process of ice-like snow seems simple, just lay snow and inject water, but there are no specific parameters for how much thickness of snow is laid, how long it takes to inject water, etc.
In January 2022, the snow team carried out snow storage at the National Ski Jumping Center. Courtesy of respondents
From 2019 to 2021, under the coordination of the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee, the "Snow Affairs Team" conducted ice-like snow production experiments at venues such as Yabuli Ski Resort in Heilongjiang, Genting Ski Park and National Alpine Ski Center.
The cold in the test area was overwhelming, but the team members worked for more than ten hours. "Although the body is cold, the heart is hot." Wang Feiteng said, "Think about the little work we are engaged in that directly serves the Winter Olympics, how much suffering and how much tiredness we suffer are worth it." ”
Overcoming the huge psychological pressure and withstanding the harsh climate environment, all the members of the "Snow Tackling Team" want to think and work hard to make one place. In hundreds of field trials, the team obtained a set of valuable data to determine the most suitable local ice-like snow track production plan.
When the ice-like snow track was successfully made for the first time, the team members cheered and applauded, and Wang Feiteng still remembers the excitement and cheers of everyone. He said: "We have not only mastered the production technology of the icy snow track that is localized under different climatic conditions, but also developed the professional monitoring equipment of the ice snow track and the efficient snow storage technology." ”
In the past five years, under the leadership of Academician Qin Dahe, the team has raced against the clock to carry out snow storage tests at the Shijinglong Ski Resort in Beijing to prevent the risk of snow use caused by rising temperatures. The success of the snow storage program also marks the successful completion of the "advance drill" of the Winter Olympics.
At present, the "Snow Research Team" has successfully stored 5,000 cubic meters of snow in the Shougang Big Jump to cope with sudden weather changes.