Balloons give scientist high research hopes

More than any other object, balloons symbolize and epitomize fun. But more advanced versions, those not seen and popped in birthday parties, can play a vital role for humans as they soar into the atmosphere to provide scientific data.

As a post-doctoral researcher from the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences at Fudan University, Zhang Peng, 33, knows the value of such balloons.

He uses them to record atmospheric measurements.

Established nearly four years ago, the institute researches polar regions, specifically how they affect the global and regional environment, ecology, weather and climate.

While radiosonde balloons are not new－they have been used by scientists since the 19th century to gather information required for weather forecast and climate research－what Zhang is also doing with them is.

In September, on his maiden journey to the Arctic, Zhang released 150 radiosonde balloons that he says will be integral to helping scientists learn more about storms in the region and how they might be related to severe weather conditions in other parts of the world.

"It was only three years ago that scientists first released radiosonde balloons in the Arctic. It's too early to talk about the significance of such work as we are still working on the data collected during the 53-day expedition," says Zhang.