China expands presence in Antarctica with its first atmospheric monitoring station

Beijing: China has opened its first overseas atmospheric monitoring station in Antarctica as it continues to firm up its presence in the icy and resource-rich southernmost continent by building research stations.

Located in the Larsemann Hills in East Antarctica, the Zhongshan National Atmospheric Background Station began operating on Sunday, according to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA).

The station will conduct "continuous and long-term operational observations of concentration changes in Antarctic atmospheric components, and provide a faithful representation of the average state of atmospheric composition and related characteristics in the region", said an article posted on the CMA website on Monday.

The monitoring data would “support the global response to climate change", the article said, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.

It is China's ninth operational atmospheric monitoring station and its first overseas. In addition, 10 new atmospheric monitoring stations are currently being tested in China.

Ding Minghu, director of the Institute of Global Change and Polar Meteorology at the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, was quoted as saying that the polar regions were “amplifiers” of global climate change.

He said the new station's observations would have “unique geographical advantages and scientific value” – including for studying the impact of human activities on the environment.

Early this year, China operationalised its sprawling fifth research station in Antarctica, which has a floor space of 5,244 square meters with facilities to support 80 expedition team members during summers and 30 members during winters, according to official media reports.

Like its rival United States, China has been expanding efforts to explore polar resources through its five scientific research stations in Antarctica and two in the Arctic, the Post report said.

Earlier this year, Chinese researchers said they were setting up a surveillance network to monitor Antarctic kill, a project that could help protect the continent’s marine ecology in the future.

Currently, there are 70 permanent research stations scattered across Antarctica, representing 29 countries from every continent, according to media reports.

India has two active research stations – Maitri and Bharti – in Antarctica. The first research station, Dakshin Gangotri, set up in 1983, had to be abandoned after it sank in the snow.

The US has six stations while Australia has three.

China signed the Antarctic Treaty in 1983. The treaty designates the continent as a natural reserve and prohibits commercial resource extraction.