Hey Explorers!
Guess what? The Xuelong-2, China’s amazing icebreaker ship, just returned from a super cool (literally!) adventure in Antarctica! 🐧❄️
A Journey Like No Other
For 208 days, the Xuelong-2 traveled over 40,000 nautical miles—that’s like going around the Earth almost twice! 🌍 It came back to Haikou City on May 28, and everyone was cheering!
The World’s First Autumn Mission
This wasn’t just any trip. It was the world’s first big team mission studying the Antarctic autumn ecosystem! Scientists from nine countries like China, Australia, the United States, and more joined forces—91 people in total!
Braving the Freezing Cold
From March 27 to April 15, the team explored the icy waters, even when temperatures dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius! 🥶 They visited 24 spots along four different paths, collecting over 5,000 samples of water, ice, mud, and sea creatures.
Discovering Antarctic Life
The scientists studied all kinds of Antarctic animals, from tiny zooplankton and krill (small shrimp-like creatures) 🦐 to fish, seabirds, and even whales! 🐋 They wanted to understand how these creatures survive when the sun starts to disappear in autumn and the sea begins to freeze.
Why Is This Important?
Their discoveries help us learn how life adapts in super cold and dark places. Plus, it teaches us how the ocean absorbs carbon during ice formation, which is important for our planet’s health! 🌏
Heroes of Science
Despite the extreme cold and tough conditions, the brave scientists showed us how teamwork and curiosity can lead to awesome discoveries! Maybe someday, you could join an adventure like this too! 🚢✨
Reference(s):
A world 1st: Xuelong-2 wraps up Antarctic autumn ecosystem mission
cgtn.com
