Scientists begin deepsea probe in S. China Sea

Chinese scientists embarked on a deep- sea mission in the South China Sea on Tuesday, the beginning of the second stage of China’s 38th oceanic expedition.

China’s first manned deepsea submersible, Jiaolong, and scientists were taken by the Xiangyanghong 09 on Tuesday.

The Jiaolong is expected to conduct its first South China Sea dive this year on Wednesday, weather permitting, according to Wu Changbin, general commander of the expedition’s second stage.

During the mission, which runs until May 13, scientists hope to choose a site for collecting polymetallic nodules and complete geological and biological surveys, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The 38th oceanic scientific expedition began on February 6, and Jiaolong completed a dive in the northwest Indian Ocean earlier this year in the mission’s first stage. It will also conduct surveys in the Yap Trench and the Mariana Trench in the third stage.

Manufactured by the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation in 2002, the Jiaolong set a national record in June 2012 of a depth of 7,062 meters in the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench. It was deployed in 2014 in the Indian Ocean for its first voyage.

China has also announced plans to build the country’s first long- term national underwater observation platform in the South China Sea to observe conditions in real time, involving Shanghai’s Tongji University and the Institute of Acoustics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, news portal sciencenet. cn reported in February.