On April 16, 2024, the "Snow Dragon 2" polar expedition icebreaker successfully docked at the domestic base of China's polar expedition in Shanghai, announcing the successful completion of the mission of China's 40th Antarctic scientific expedition.
The year 2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the continental polar expedition. From being "invited" by the Antarctic Treaty Assembly to drink coffee outside, to planting the first five-star red flag in Antarctica, to establishing a research station on the top of the Antarctic ice sheet...... Over the past 40 years, China has been moving step by step to become a polar exploration power.
Since the first Chinese Antarctic expedition in 1984, Wuhan University has sent nearly 200 people to participate in China's 40 Antarctic scientific expeditions and 17 Arctic scientific expeditions.
On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of China's polar expedition, Hubei Radio and Television Changjiang Cloud News and Wuhan University planned to launch a series of reports "40 Years, to Antarctica", telling the stories of the previous polar expedition members of Wuhan University. Today, the eighth article "Zhang Baojun: A ten-year appointment with Antarctica, I did it!".
Ten years ago, he participated in China's 30th Antarctic scientific expedition as a student, and ten years later, he changed from a student to a teacher, and set foot on the Antarctic continent again. He said that going to Antarctica twice in 10 years is an agreement with Antarctica. Today, we sat down with Zhang Baojun, an associate researcher at the China Antarctic Surveying and Mapping Research Center at Wuhan University, to hear his Antarctic story.
When the reporter met Zhang Baojun, he had just returned to Wuhan from China's 40th Antarctic scientific expedition, and after working in Antarctic low temperature, scorching sun, and windy weather for a long time, his face still looked a little dark, and his body was still a little uncomfortable. Zhang Baojun quipped.
Ten years ago, he wintered in Antarctica, and ten years later, he went out again
In 2013, Zhang Baojun, who was still studying for a doctorate at Wuhan University, followed China's 30th Antarctic scientific expedition to Antarctica, participated in the construction, observation and maintenance of the global tracking station of the Beidou navigation system, and repaired the tide gauge station of Zhongshan Station.
At that time, Zhang Baojun, who had just arrived at Zhongshan Station, was deeply shocked by the magic of nature, and the nearby sea ice could still see frozen waves, "Until now, I haven't figured out how this was formed, just like the scene in the cartoon "Frozen", it is very magical." ”
Zhang Baojun (first from left) participated in China's 30th Antarctic expedition and wintered at Zhongshan Station
When he went to Antarctica again after ten years, Zhang Baojun seemed much calmer. He said that although it was the second expedition, the feeling was not the same, "The place where I went twice was different, the first time I went was a completely novel feeling, this time it will be more planned, and I have invested more energy in the process of scientific research and station building." ”
Advance to the Ross Sea and build the Qinling Station
In the 40th Chinese Antarctic scientific expedition, Zhang Baojun's main task was to participate in the construction of the Qinling Station, the installation of tide gauge stations and GNSS tracking stations. One of the most important tasks is the construction of China's fifth Antarctic scientific research station, Qinling Station.
Qinling Station is located on Enksburg Island in the south of Terranova Bay in the western part of the Ross Sea in Antarctica, with a construction area of 5,244 square meters, which is an area where typical natural geographical units such as lithosphere, cryosphere, biosphere and atmosphere in Antarctica interact intensively, which is very conducive to the study of energy and material exchange, marine life and global climate change in the earth system.
Talking about the construction process of Qinling Station, Zhang Baojun said that this was an experience that he will never forget. The construction period of the station is tight and the task is heavy, not only the construction personnel on site, but also all the scientific expedition team members must participate. Zhang Baojun successively undertook the installation of the main building of Qinling Station, the purlin base of the logistics center, and the installation of two helipads, and also tore off the protective film of the exterior wall panels.
Zhang Baojun is carrying out a scientific research mission at Qinling Station
Before leaving, I was mentally prepared, but I never thought that the intensity of the work on the site was far beyond Zhang Baojun's expectations, "I thought I was a veteran team member with more experience, and I thought it was okay at first, but later I found that it was still a little difficult to get to the scene." ”
Working 13 hours a day and fighting for more than 40 days
During the construction of the station, the members of the scientific expedition team worked about 13 hours a day. Not only do you have to work long hours and high intensity, but in the Ross Sea region, severe cold, low temperatures and windy weather are commonplace, which invisibly adds a lot of difficulty to the operation. When I first arrived, the temperature was minus a few degrees Celsius, and by the end of February, the lowest temperature reached minus 30 degrees Celsius, "When I wintered at Zhongshan Station, the lowest temperature for the whole year was around minus 26 degrees Celsius, which is a bit cooler here. ”
Zhang Baojun is working at Qinling Station
"Under normal temperature conditions, the protective film can be torn off in one or two minutes, and the temperature is too low at that time, and a film of four or five square meters can be torn by three or four people together, and it takes three hours to tear it to complete. Zhang Baojun said that the most difficult part to complete is to tear off the protective film of the outer wall panel. In order to improve work efficiency, the team members poured boiling water on the membrane, so that the film could be better removed, and one sheet could be solved in half an hour. "After tearing it, the gloves were wet and frozen, and I couldn't wear them anymore. ”
During the construction of Qinling Station, Zhang Baojun was installing a tide gauge
During the construction of Qinling Station, the construction personnel for installing the purlins and exterior wall panels of the main structure are very limited, and in China, the construction of a building covering an area of 5,000 square meters takes dozens of people 2-3 months to complete. But there are only 9 people here, and the labor force is seriously insufficient, so part of the material installation work needs to be completed by the scientific expedition team, punching holes in the steel surface, nailing them one by one with self-tapping screws and electric screwdrivers, and doing it for about 10 days in a row, "The construction staff showed us a demonstration, and then immediately got started, there was no time to adapt, I could only do it while learning, and at the end of the day, everyone's wrists were swollen, and I used nearly 100 pieces of painkiller cream myself." ”
In order to build the station, China's 40th Antarctic expedition transported 522 pieces and 9,300 tons of materials, and 104 expedition members adopted the work and rest mode of Beijing time, divided into 7 teams such as steel structure, hydropower, exterior wall panels, civil engineering, machinery, comprehensive management and logistics support, and invested 32 sets (sets) of machinery and equipment such as aerial work vehicles, engineering cranes, lift trucks, flatbed cranes, excavators, loaders, etc., to overcome the challenges and impacts of various extremely difficult environments, and finally built Qinling Station.
After the completion of Qinling Station, Zhang Baojun left a group photo here
On the evening of February 5, the main construction of Qinling Station was basically completed, and in order to meet the opening ceremony two days later, the team members began to make final preparations. Seeing that he and his teammates finally ushered in the results of more than 40 days of hard work, Zhang Baojun couldn't help but sigh in his heart: everything is worth it!" "This way, although it is hard, but also learned a lot of construction skills, seeing Qinling Station from scratch such a process, as a member of the scientific expedition team involved in the construction is very proud and proud." ”
Build a website and grasp scientific research with both hands to obtain a large amount of precious data
In addition to building the station, Zhang Baojun also shouldered important scientific research tasks on this expedition. After returning from Antarctica, Zhang Baojun brought back valuable field observations, through which he could learn about changes in sea level. "Global warming, the accelerated melting of polar ice caps, etc., will cause sea level rise, and it is first-hand information that can be used to analyze the impact of sea level rise through the data obtained. There are some other applications, including tsunamis, earthquakes, etc., that will be reflected in the data. ”
Concerned about her three-year-old daughter, she brought her back with a "penguin".
In Antarctica, you also have to "eat" according to the sky. When he can't work outdoors, he can only stay in the cabin, and whenever this happens, Zhang Baojun will feel very homesick. When he set off in November last year, his daughter was just over two years old and is now less than three years old. Zhang Baojun regretted that he had not been at home for nearly half a year, and he was inevitably ashamed of his children for the lack of companionship.
When he first arrived in Antarctica, it was the local summer, and when the weather was good, he could see seals and penguins, so Zhang Baojun took a lot of photos and videos, and wanted to wait until he returned home to show his daughter. "I recorded a lot of precious videos for my child, and I showed them to her as soon as I came back this time, and she is very curious about things in the outside world at her age, and she is very happy to see these videos. ”
Zhang Baojun in Antarctica
As a scientific expedition to Antarctica twice, Zhang Baojun also has a wish in his heart, that is, to let his footprints cover every Chinese scientific research station, wintering at Zhongshan Station, and participating in the construction of Qinling Station, and he hopes to go to the interior of Antarctica next time. "I cherish every opportunity to go to Antarctica for scientific research, such an experience is also rare, and I hope to have the next 'ten-year appointment' with Antarctica. ”
(Changjiang Cloud News reporter Wang Yu Wang Xu)