At noon on May 4th, Chinese expedition members of Mount Everest successfully climbed to the summit, and used high-precision radar to measure the thickness of ice and snow on the summit for the first time.
At about 4: 46 12: 46, Chinese expedition members successfully set up the world's highest automatic weather station on Mount Everest.
China scientific research explores the top of the earth —— An exclusive interview with Yao Tandong, the leader of the second comprehensive scientific investigation team on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and an academician of China Academy of Sciences.
The second comprehensive scientific investigation and study on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which has lasted for five years, started the "peak mission" 2022-comprehensive scientific investigation and study on the extremely high altitude area of Mount Everest this year. On the 4th, more than ten expedition members launched a sprint to the top of Mount Everest.
Why does the country attach so much importance to the protection and research of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Mount Everest? What are the missions of the expedition members who rushed to the top of Mount Everest? What world records will related research break?
With these questions, Xinhua News Agency recently interviewed Yao Tandong, the leader of the second comprehensive scientific investigation team on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the field commander and academician of China Academy of Sciences.
Yao Tandong, captain of the second comprehensive scientific investigation team on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, field commander and academician of China Academy of Sciences, was interviewed by Xinhua News Agency.
"Protect the last pure land in the world"
Reporter: What do you think of the important position of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in scientific research and the great mission shouldered by the second Qinghai-Tibet scientific research?
Yao Tandong: The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the roof of the world, the water tower of Asia, the roof of the world of the earth, an important ecological security barrier and strategic resource reserve base in China, and an important protected area of Chinese national culture. Carrying out this scientific investigation and study, revealing the mechanism of environmental changes in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and optimizing the ecological security barrier system will have a very important impact on promoting the sustainable development of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, promoting the construction of national ecological civilization and promoting global ecological environmental protection.
On May 3rd, at the Everest Mountaineering Base Camp, researchers released atmospheric ozone sounding balloons. Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fei photo
In fact, the scientific research on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in New China began in 1950s. In the early 1970s, when our country was still very difficult, the first comprehensive scientific research on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was launched. In 20031February, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Research Institute of China Academy of Sciences was established, specializing in comprehensive scientific research on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
The mission of the second national comprehensive investigation and study on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is to focus on water, ecology and human activities, and to solve the problems of resources and environmental carrying capacity, disaster risk and green development path of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, so as to make new contributions to protecting the last pure land in the world and building a beautiful Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and to make the lives of people of all ethnic groups on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau happier and healthier.
The comprehensive scientific research on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is mainly about "feeling the family's bottom" for the first time, and "watching the changes" for the second time. We should strive to make major breakthroughs in scientific research and provide decision-making basis for the economic and social development and ecological environment protection of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
"Professional expedition team members are expected to sample Everest for the first time"
Reporter: Why is the target of this year's scientific research mission locked in Mount Everest? What topics do you plan to carry out investigation and research on?
Yao Tandong: The Everest expedition is actually an important part of the second Qinghai-Tibet expedition, which we have been planning for many years. Mount Everest is the symbol of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. From a scientific point of view, the climate and environmental changes in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau can be said to affect the rest of the world.
On May 3, at the Everest Mountaineering Base Camp, researchers checked the operation of the ozone flux device. Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Fanshe
First of all, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the water tower of Asia, from which many important rivers in the world originate, thus benefiting mankind.
Second, from an ecological point of view. Going south from Mount Everest, below is the Ganges Plain, which is close to zero meters above sea level. In other words, the straight-line distance is only two or three hundred kilometers, and the altitude difference is more than eight thousand meters. The distribution of animals and plants and the change of ecosystem here are equivalent to a miniature landscape of the earth, which is also one of the greatest charms of Mount Everest.
Third, from the perspective of climate. Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a giant regulator of monsoon and westerly wind, which has an important impact on global climate change.
On May 3rd, at the Everest Mountaineering Base Camp, researchers checked the microwave radiometer. Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Fanshe
This year, for the first time, we plan to apply advanced technologies, methods and means to study the vertical change characteristics and interaction mechanism of the six circles in Mount Everest, focusing on major scientific issues such as the synergy between west wind and monsoon, the change of water towers in Asia, the ecosystem and biodiversity, and human activities, and reveal the environmental change law, greenhouse gas concentration change characteristics, ecosystem carbon sink function and human adaptation characteristics to extreme environment in the extremely high altitude area of Mount Everest under the background of climate warming. To achieve a new breakthrough in the scientific research of the earth system, and put forward an innovative scientific plan for the nature protection of Mount Everest, so as to serve the construction of the highland of ecological civilization on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the environmental protection and green development of roof of the world.
We organized five scientific research teams, including 16 scientific research teams, and * * * more than 270 scientific research team members participated. This is the second comprehensive expedition in Qinghai-Tibet since it was launched in 20 17, with the widest subject coverage and the largest number of participants.
An important task of this Everest expedition is to build eight weather stations from 5200 meters to 8800 meters above sea level, four of which are above 7000 meters above sea level. Once the 8800-meter weather station is successfully erected, it will become the highest automatic weather station in the world.
Reporter: Over the years, around Mount Everest, scientific research and mountaineering have been closely integrated. We learned that this time, a group of mountaineers were specially trained to carry out the task of climbing to the top. The general public is eager to know more about this.
Yao Tandong: In 1950s and 1960s, the summit of Mount Everest was a great event. At that time, it was called mountaineering expedition, and the summit was the first goal. The expedition was an accessory, and as much as you could do. Later, scientists made various scientific expeditions in this area as independent forces, parallel to mountaineering. However, for a landmark site like Mount Everest, most of the research done by scientists is five or six kilometers high, and there are few samples over 8 thousand meters. There are still many gaps in the research on the summit of Mount Everest. For example, with the global warming, will the ice and snow on the summit melt? What changes have taken place in the ecosystem from the foot of the mountain to the peak? What are the changes of greenhouse gases and air pollutants such as carbon dioxide? Many problems must be confirmed by observation, and science cannot assume.
This time, we have integrated a mountaineering team of more than ten people, specially trained for two years in collecting samples, erecting and using instruments and equipment, and recently conducted intensive training. As professional expedition members, they are expected to achieve summit sampling for the first time, and perform tasks such as the erection of gradient weather stations, the drilling of shallow ice cores at the summit and the radar thickness measurement at the summit.
"Comprehensive scientific research with the most advanced instruments and equipment"
Reporter: Are the instruments and equipment used in this extremely high-altitude scientific expedition, especially those that the climbers need to carry, specially designed and modified to adapt to the climatic environment of Mount Everest and the portable requirements for mountaineering?
Yao Tandong: We have put forward special requirements to the instrument company, such as low temperature resistance, low pressure resistance, high cold resistance, and so on. We have made a lot of improvements to the instruments and equipment, and tried our best to achieve light weight and good performance.
On May 2nd, at the Everest base camp, researchers checked the wind radar. Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Fanshe
Reporter: Compared with the first comprehensive scientific expedition on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the 1970s, has there been a great change in the technical equipment of this expedition?
Yao Tandong: Yes. Looking back on the field scientific research decades ago, we students used the geological hammer, compass and notebook. The geological hammer was used to beat rocks to observe weathering, the compass was used to identify directions, and the notebook was used to draw sketches. At that time, only teachers could have cameras and barometers.
The first Qinghai-Tibet expedition was basically descriptive, mainly to see what was there. Scientific research should go from qualitative to quantitative, and the second Qinghai-Tibet expedition should also look at what has changed there, from description to revealing the process mechanism, and then confirm it with problems. This is a change in the paradigm of scientific research.
For decades, the improvement of our country's comprehensive strength and the progress of science and technology have supported the upgrading of scientific research equipment. The state provided special funds for the second Qinghai-Tibet expedition, and this year's Everest expedition is also the most advanced comprehensive expedition with the most advanced instruments and equipment since the launch of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau comprehensive expedition. Such as unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned ships, sounding balloons and airships, etc., have been applied to investigation and research. In addition, we will use helicopters this time, which is the first time in the second Qinghai-Tibet expedition.
"Some research fields are already in the first phalanx of the world"
Reporter: The scientific research around the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has attracted worldwide attention. Is the relevant scientific research of Chinese scientists in a leading position in the world?
Yao Tandong: Since the 1950s, China has conducted many special and comprehensive scientific expeditions on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The Chinese Academy of Sciences has established several observation stations on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, including Mount Everest Station, Namco Station, Southeast Tibet Station and Ali Station in Tibet, and continued to carry out relevant scientific research.
The study of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau covers a wide range, including geophysics, geological structure, ecology, environment and so on. The research of Chinese scientists, especially with the support of major basic research projects in the past two or three decades, has been in the first phalanx in the world, for example, including climate change such as glacier change, and ecological field. With the advancement of research, I believe that we will show more new discoveries and new progress in the international arena, and we will have more international voice in related scientific research fields.