China launches 43rd Antarctic scientific expedition

Researchers will look into how climate change affects the Southern Ocean ecosystem, and will use anchored subsurface buoys, box corers, biological trawls and other tools to inspect physical oceanography, marine chemistry, marine biology, marine geology, atmospheric conditions and sea ice along their route.

The team will also conduct in-situ sampling through the ice sheet covering the Qilin subglacial lake, and investigate frontier topics such as linked polar geological hazards, interactions between hydrothermal vents and cold seeps, and mechanisms behind the cessation of plate subduction.