This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's polar expedition. On the occasion of World Antarctica Day, on December 1, 2024, China's Zhongshan National Atmospheric Background Station in Antarctica (hereinafter referred to as the Station) is in official operation. 

It symbolizes that after 16 years of scientific accumulation and innovative exploration, the Station has officially been incorporated into China's atmospheric background station family, and will conduct continuous and long-term operational observation of the change of atmospheric composition and concentration in Antarctica, which can serve as faithful presentation of the average state of the atmospheric composition and related characteristics in the Antarctic region, and bolster global response to climate change.

The Station is China's first atmospheric background station established on the Antarctic continent and the ninth one to be in official operation.

The observation field of the Station Source: CAMS 

The Antarctic region is a significant background region for global atmospheric environment observation. Dr. DING Minghu, Director of the Institute of Global Change and Polar Meteorology of the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences (CAMS), expressed that polar regions were “amplifiers” of global climate change, and the observation data of the Zhongshan Station, a Chinese scientific research base in Antarctica, possessed unique geographical advantages and scientific value, conducive to exploring the long-term changes and rules of atmospheric background of the Antarctic continent, the stratosphere-troposphere exchange process, the multi-layer interaction mechanism, and human activity impact on the earth.

During the fourth International Polar Year (IPY) from 2007 to 2008, an observation shelter of atmospheric chemistry was constructed at the Zhongshan Station in Antarctica, which was equipped with ozone spectrometer and radiation monitoring instrument, and kick-started the operation of atmospheric composition observation in Antarctica. In 2010, a high-precision greenhouse gas online observing system was built at the Zhongshan Station and officially launched the continuous online observation of carbon dioxide and methane with high temporal resolution, enabling China to become the third country worldwide to be capable of conducting this operation in Antarctica.

In 2008, an observation shelter of atmospheric chemistry was established at the Zhongshan Station in Antarctica. Source: CAMS 

To date, a comprehensive observing system comprised of 7 categories of meteorological elements, including ozone, atmospheric chemistry, total radiation and aerosol, has been set up at the Zhongshan Station. 

As a crucial component of the Antarctic Zhongshan Ice and Space Environment National Observation and Research Station operated by Polar Research Institute of China, the atmospheric composition observation data of the Zhongshan Station have been included in the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Antarctic Ozone Bulletin and State of Polar Climate by the China Meteorological Administration (CMA). The data have been used many times by scientists, which have vigorously promoted scientific research into fields such as polar weather and climate change, and polar atmospheric chemistry.

Atmospheric component online observing system of the Station Source: CAMS

Dr. CAO Xiaozhong, Deputy Administrator of CMA remarked “Antarctica is new 'starting point' of China's meteorological endeavor.” He also pointed out that China's meteorological departments would continue to thoroughly implement the operation and management of the Station, give full play to the benefits of Antarctic meteorological observation data, and draw the "Zhongshan Curve in Antarctica", to conduce to deeper understanding, protection and utilization of Antarctica, and to make huger contributions to benefit of mankind as well as building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Currently, China has 9 national atmospheric background stations, for instance, Waliguan Baseline Observatory in Qinghai Province. Meanwhile, 10 national atmospheric background stations to be added have kicked off one-year observation experiments in July this year.

Editor: LIU Shuqiao