During China’s 41st Antarctic Expedition organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources, the expedition team consisted of 516 people from 118 institutions at home and abroad, including six Hong Kong scientists, it is also the first time that a Hong Kong scientist has been selected to join the National Antarctic Expedition. On the 26th, Hong Kong media published an interview with scientists returning to Hong Kong.
April 8,2025, aboard the“Snow dragon” icebreaker scientists triumphant return.
According to a report on Hong Kong Dagong Wenhui website on the 26th, this scientific expedition is the second time that China has carried out a three-ship cruise to Antarctica, the Snow Dragon and Snow Dragon 2 both set out from Guangzhou on November 1 last year, with the former taking the lead in returning on April 8, while the latter is expected to complete its mission and return to Shanghai in June. The Yongsheng, which set sail from Zhangjiagang on November 20, completed its mission on January 23. According to a previous report by the Hong Kong media, four of the six Hong Kong scientists participating in the National Antarctic Expedition for the first time are from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, including associate professor of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Liu Lin, head of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Zhou Dazheng, the other two are assistant professor of the Department of Marine Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Lai ji-ying, and postdoctoral researcher of the Department of Marine Science, Chen Zhaoliang. The Hong Kong team’s research focuses on greening and vegetation expansion in Antarctica. In an interview with the Hong Kong media, Liu said that the expansion of Antarctic vegetation is essentially a “Biological indicator” of climate warming, and that the Antarctic Great Wall Station for Hong Kong scientists to carry out their research work, located on the Antarctic Peninsula, where global warming is most intense, warming has reduced ice and snow in the region, releasing bare land and lengthening and expanding the growing season of plants such as mosses and lichens, this ‘Antarctic Greening’ is the key to understanding the climate response mechanism of polar ecosystems. “We have found many small ponds with colourful patterns of algae and micro-organisms, which are very different from the world of pure white ice and snow as people think,” ms Lau said vividly in her research diary. The Hong Kong team collected nearly 300 composite samples near Antarctic Great Wall Station, the samples were returned to the Chinese University of Hong Kong for further analysis.
In August last year, the Chinese University of Hong Kong signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with the Polar Research Institute of China to jointly establish the Hong Kong Polar Science and Innovation Centre, to build Hong Kong into a platform for polar science and technology innovation connecting the mainland and the world, and to support Hong Kong researchers to participate in polar expeditions. Looking ahead, the Chinese University of Hong Kong hopes to use the Antarctic Expedition to consolidate its scientific and research advantages and participate in the 42nd National Antarctic Expedition at the end of this year. Liu Lin told Hong Kong media that the Chinese University of Hong Kong plans to send two Hong Kong scientists to participate in the country’s 15th Arctic Ocean Scientific Expedition from July to September this year, and to station at the Yellow River station in the Arctic, contributing Hong Kong’s wisdom to China’s vision of becoming a technology powerhouse.