Chinas 41st Antarctic exploration has actually successfully completed a critical survey of the Amundsen Sea and Ross Sea, discovering uncommon circumstances of polynyas.
These are essential open-water regions within sea ice that influence both Antarcticas ecology and worldwide climate patterns.Sun Yongming, a member of Chinas 41st Antarctic expedition, described the visualization of sea ice concentrations and the significance of polynyas along the coast.
This map reveals the typical sea ice concentration from 2013 to 2020.
It shows data for November, with yellow areas indicating 100 percent ice coverage and pure blue areas representing 0 percent, or open water.
Along the coast, you can see the blue water surface, which we call polynyas, stated Sun.Polynyas form through different natural processes.
Sun described that the most common technique includes Antarcticas katabatic winds & strong, down winds that push newly formed sea ice away from the coast, developing open water areas.
This phenomenon, known as a wind-driven polynya, fluctuates in size in time, depending on changing weather patterns.
In very low temperature levels, its only these polynyas that produce brand-new ice.
Once brand-new ice forms, it gets blown outside by the wind, and more ice continues to form, so we describe this procedure as an ice factory.
We generally determine a polynyas size by the quantity of ice it produces.
The Amundsen Sea polynya is currently the fourth biggest amongst all the polynyas around Antarctica; its rather substantial, Sun added.More than a lots big polynyas exist around Antarctica, with the Amundsen Sea polynya being among the largest and most significant.
These areas play a crucial function in the areas heat exchange, supporting higher biological productivity and offering distinct insights into the dynamics of Antarcticas environment.
Polynyas facilitate heat exchange, which creates a more favorable environment for biological activity.
Research studies show that the Amundsen Sea polynya has the greatest primary performance of all the polynyas around Antarctica.
Thats why were particularly focused on comprehending how polynyas impact the entire ecosystem, which is why weve been carrying out extensive ecological observations in the area, Sun concluded.Chinas 41st Antarctic Expedition set sail from the southern Chinese port city of Guangzhou on November 1, 2024, with three vessels: the Xuelong and Xuelong-2 for clinical research study and logistics, and the Yongsheng cargo ship, which is supplying materials for the Qinling Station.
The objective is set to last nearly 7 months, with a return set up for May 2025.