Marine scientists lead way to plumb secrets of the deep

China plans to conduct a manned deep-sea expedition reaching depths of more than 10,000 meters by about 2021, according to a senior official at the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Ke Bing, who oversees scientific and technological research in oceans, says scientists and engineers will develop a manned submersible to accomplish the mission.

The goal comes after the success of the Haidou unmanned submersible, which dived 10,767 meters at the Marianas Trench in the Western Pacific in the summer.

During a scientific expedition between June 22 and Aug 12, Haidou dived more than 8,000 meters once, 9,000 meters twice and 10,000 meters twice. The expedition enabled Chinese researchers to obtain valuable data and samples of water, sediment and deep-sea creatures.

This makes China the third country after Japan and the United States to have built submersibles capable of reaching depths of more than 10,000 meters, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which developed the submersible.

Jiaolong, China's manned submersible, reached a depth of 7,062 meters in the Marianas Trench in June 2012.

With a combined area larger than the United States, the world's 26 hadal trenches, at depths of 6,500 meters or more, are home to many unknown species as well as energy and metal resources. Explorations at these depths are difficult because of such things as extremely high pressure and low temperatures.

Chinese researchers are now developing the Rainbow Fish manned submersible, which will be capable of diving to 11,000 meters. It's intended mother ship, deep-sea exploration vessel Zhang Jian, finished a 74-day maiden voyage in late September. During the 9,000- nautical-mile trip, the ship traveled across the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean to the New Britain Trench, which is more than 8,000 meters deep, in the Solomon Sea near Papua New Guinea.

China passed a law on deep seafloor resource exploration in February, aiming to boost sustainable use of deep-sea resources and to strengthen deep-sea exploration.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 10/14/2016 page8)