reporter's notes | diving into the deep sea on the jiaolong
2024-09-05
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xinhua news agency "deep sea no. 1" september 5th reporter's notes | diving into the deep sea on the "jiaolong"
xinhua news agency reporter wang yuhao
the albo seamount in the middle of the northwest pacific seamount has more than 500 small hills, the highest of which is only about 500 meters above the water. the special topography provides a suitable living environment for marine life and makes the deep sea world here rich and diverse.
on september 4, the reporter boarded the jiaolong manned submersible, which was conducting the 2024 western pacific international expedition, and dived into the deep sea to get a close look at this unique seamount.
the picture shows the jiaolong completing its dive in the western pacific ocean on august 18, 2024. the 2024 western pacific international expedition successfully completed the first dive of the jiaolong in the western pacific ocean on august 18. this is also the 300th dive of the jiaolong, my country's first 7,000-meter-class manned submersible independently designed and integrated. photo by xinhua news agency reporter wang yuhaoat about 7 a.m., the jiaolong was put into the water. submariner fu wentao took reporters and hong kong biologist qiu jianwen on an 8-hour deep-sea journey.
the 2.1-meter-diameter manned cabin can only accommodate three people, but it is considered large among similar manned submersibles in the world. fu wentao sat in the middle, serving as the main pilot. qiu jianwen, sitting on the port side, was responsible for observing and photographing the seabed landscape and assisting the main pilot in communicating with the surface. the reporter, sitting on the starboard side, was responsible for recording underwater creatures and collecting samples.
after the surface inspection, the jiaolong began to fill with water and sink. as the depth value on the display panel gradually increased, the color outside the window gradually changed from light blue to darker, and finally became pitch black at 120 meters.
unlike what one might imagine, the jiaolong was very quiet during the dive, without any shaking, except for the regular sounds from the underwater acoustic communication system.
40 minutes later, the jiaolong reached the bottom of the sea at a depth of 1,244 meters. the light from the submersible illuminated the deep-sea biological world in front of it. qiu jianwen could not wait to observe the surroundings. he told reporters that the biomass at this depth is usually rich, and every frame of the scene outside the window should not be missed.
at 8:20, a sea slug appeared in front of us. the seabed is dominated by sand waves, which looks more like a white beach. different species of sponges such as line sponges grow in patches, and they drift slowly with the water flow, which is very soft and beautiful.
at the same time, fu wentao has completed the sampling of seawater and sediments.
after saying goodbye to the first hill, we headed towards the top of another hill.
the topography has changed a lot during the "climbing" process. there are more fish, shrimps and crabs on the plate-like crust. some of them are looking for food, some are sleeping, and some are playing "hide and seek" with the behemoth "jiaolong".
following the direction of fu wentao's finger, we saw a yellow starfish. "this starfish has 14 arms, the most i've ever seen," said fu wentao.
after driving nearly 3 kilometers, we arrived at the top of the hill, which is about 750 meters from the sea. the terrain is mainly rocky, and you can see starfish, sea urchins, corals, anemones, etc.
this is the top of a mountain and a cliff. fu wentao skillfully drove the jiaolong and led us to another hill on the opposite side. there were fewer creatures here, and only a squid swam by.
while we are still feeling unsatisfied, the deep sea journey is coming to an end.
"compared with our recent dives in seamounts, the biomass of the albo seamount we dived in today is not large, but the gradient distribution of organisms is very obvious. sponges, starfish, sea cucumbers and other organisms are distributed almost according to water depth." said qiu jianwen.
at 15:00 on board, the jiaolong jettisoned its load on time and returned to the surface 35 minutes later.
there was a "bang" sound outside the cabin. it turned out that the "frogmen" drove a small boat to the side of the "jiaolong". they jumped onto the roof of the "jiaolong", skillfully hung the rope, and pulled us back to the ship.
five minutes later, the jiaolong returned to the rear deck of the deep sea one. qiu jianwen said: "today we collected more than 20 species of biological samples. the dominant organisms at the foot of the seamount are sponges, starfish, and sea cucumbers, while the dominant organisms at the top are shrimps and crabs."
the scientists were divided into professional groups and immediately processed and analyzed the samples, and the laboratory on the ship became busy.
limited by professional knowledge, in today's underwater observation and sampling report, the reporter only recorded the color and species of the creatures, and in some cases could only draw their appearance. the reporter showed the photos taken with his mobile phone to andrew, a biological taxonomist from spain, who wrote down the names of three of the creatures. as for the other creatures that could not be identified, everyone needs to discuss and exchange ideas.
the scientific expedition team members on this voyage come from 8 countries, and they all have their own strengths in ocean ecology, microorganisms, marine geology, etc. they sit together to review the diving video, identify biological species, exchange biological habits, help and learn from each other in the laboratory, and share knowledge and wisdom in scientific research activities on board such as the "deep sea lecture hall".
stepping out of the laboratory, on the rear deck of the "deep sea one" ship, the "jiaolong" operation and maintenance support team has begun to prepare for the next dive - checking, charging, assembling payloads, filling with oxygen, installing onboard operating tools, etc.
for the journalists, it was a wonderful day of diving into the deep sea; but for the jiaolong team, it was just an ordinary day.
in the next dive two days later, the jiaolong will head to a new seamount to conduct biodiversity and environmental surveys. as time goes by and day after day, chinese deep-sea workers never stop exploring the vast ocean.
