China Jiaolong manned submersible first went to the Indian Ocean for scientific research

Jiangyin, Jiangsu, November 25 (Reporters Zhang Xudong and Yang Weihan) China independently developed, designed and successfully tested the 7000-meter manned submersible Jiaolong, which sailed from Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, to the Southwest Indian Ocean on November 25 to carry out the second and third phases of the experimental application voyage of Jiaolong (35 voyages in the Chinese Ocean) for the first time. Operations in the Indian Ocean and submarine hydrothermal zones.

Tao Chunhui, a shipboard scientist and researcher at the Second Institute of Oceanography of the State Oceanic Administration, told reporters that the Jiaolong will operate in four submarine hydrothermal zones in the Southwest Indian Ocean, one of which is active and of the greatest concern to scientists.

"We have carried out many investigations on hydrothermal activities in this area. This time, we are going to give full play to the advantages of Jiaolong's fixed-point and fine operation, conduct micro-investigations, and acquire the knowledge that the previous investigation equipment and means could not obtain." Tao Chunhui said, "Jiaolong's operation in this area will play an important role in resource and environmental assessment of this area."

Hydrothermal sulfides in seabed hydrothermal active zones are a kind of seabed mineral deposit which has attracted more and more attention in the world. Its origin is that seawater penetrates underground from cracks in the earth's crust, when lava is heated, gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead and other metals in surrounding rock strata are dissolved and then ejected from underground. These metals are chemically reacted to form sulfides that are deposited on the nearby seabed and accumulated in the shape of "chimneys", also known as "black chimneys".

In 2011, China acquired 10,000 square kilometres of polymetallic sulphide deposits in the southwestern Indian Ocean, where Jiaolong's trip to the Indian Ocean was conducted.

Liu Feng, Director of the Office of the China Ocean Association, said that at present China has acquired three seabed mining areas with exclusive exploration and priority in the international seabed area. In addition to the polymetallic sulphide mining areas in the Southwest Indian Ocean, there are 75,000 square kilometers of polymetallic nodule mining areas in the Northeast Pacific Ocean in 2001 and 3000 square meters in the Northwest Pacific Ocean in April this year. A cobalt-rich crust mining area of one kilometer.

"At present, China is the largest country in the world that has obtained seabed mining areas with exclusive exploration rights and priority mining rights in international seabed areas." "Previously, Jiaolong has been submerged in both polymetallic nodule and cobalt-rich crust mining areas, which will be the first time that Jiaolong has been working in Polymetallic Sulphide mining areas with more submarine hydrothermal deposits," Liu said.

Tang Jialing, a submarine, told Xinhua that the submarine hydrothermal zone is a special submarine terrain that Jiaolong had never visited. Compared with the polymetallic nodule and cobalt-rich crust areas previously visited, the biological environment and terrain are more complex and uncertain.

Tang Jialing said that some hydrothermal vents are hundreds of meters from the sea floor vertically, while the diameter of hydrothermal vents is only tens of centimeters. To operate Jiaolong, the diver first climbs a very steep slope, some of which are seventy or eighty degrees, and then operates the submersible to lean against the hydrothermal vent and maintain a good stable state, which requires a high degree of operation for the diver.

It is understood that before the "Jiaolong" operation there was no clear operating point, experimental application of more experimental purposes. Previously, the contract area for exploration of polymetallic sulphides in the Southwest Indian Ocean has been investigated many times through other investigation tools, and a lot of information has been learned. The experimental application of Jiaolong will put more emphasis on its application, requiring Jiaolong to "point where to fight where". The operation target and operation point are very clear and the difficulty is even greater.

From 2014 to 2015, Liu Xincheng, Senior Adviser on the Trial Application Voyage of Jiaolong Manned Submersible, said that the Indian Ocean Science and Technology Examination of Jiaolong also faces the challenge of maintaining and guaranteeing a large number of new people and divers. Jiaolong support team is being handed over from R&D design team to business operation team. R&D personnel are greatly reduced. Many maintenance and support personnel need to learn constantly during the voyage.

It is understood that the "Jiaolong" will also carry many new operating tools, verify these new equipment and tools, and expand the "Jiaolong" function. New tools include hydrothermal pressure retaining sampler, seabed high temperature cap, multi-parameter chemical sensor, macro-biological sampler and equipment and tools for long-term seabed observation.

After the official departure from Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province on 25, the ship Xiangyanghong 09, carrying Jiaolong, is expected to berth at the port of Mauritius on 16 December, carry out the second leg investigation mission from Mauritius on 21 December, return to Mauritius on 21 January 2015 and carry out the third leg investigation mission from Mauritius on 24 January 2015. After the completion of the scientific research mission, "Xiangyanghong 09" again berthed in Mauritius for supply, and is expected to return to Qingdao on March 19, 2015.

Jiaolong created the world's largest dive depth of 7062 meters in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean in 2012. It entered into experimental application in 2013, and achieved rich samples and scientific results, helping scientists to discover new species in the South China Sea. The Jiaolong is scheduled to dive 20 times during the Southwest Indian Ocean Science Examination.