China opens its first atmospheric monitoring station in Antarctica
Data from the station will ‘support the global response to climate change’, according to China Meteorological Administration
Located in the Larsemann Hills in East Antarctica, the Zhongshan National Atmospheric Background Station began operating on Sunday, according to the China Meteorological Administration.
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”, the administration said in an article posted to its website on Monday.
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.
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.
