"Peak mission" Mount Everest scientific expedition enters "top moment" What are the tasks of the peak scientific expedition?

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  Today, the "Peak Mission" Mount Everest scientific expedition will start the "top moment".

The 12 scientific expedition climbers will work together with the front headquarters of Mount Everest Base Camp on the summit to jointly complete the most critical and challenging comprehensive mission of the summit expedition.

Including the establishment of the world's highest automatic weather station at an altitude of 8,800 meters; the first time on the top of the earth to use high-precision radar to measure the thickness of ice and snow, collect ice and snow samples, and experiment on the human body's extreme altitude adaptation mechanism.

  The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the roof of the world, the water tower of Asia, and the third pole of the earth.

Since the 1950s, my country has carried out more than six scientific expeditions to Mount Everest, including the first large-scale comprehensive scientific investigation and research on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the 1970s.

  The "Peak Mission" Mount Everest scientific expedition was fully launched on April 28 this year. A total of more than 270 expedition members from 16 scientific expedition teams from 5 scientific expedition teams participated. This is the most extensive subject coverage since the second Qinghai-Tibet scientific expedition in 2017 , The comprehensive scientific expedition with the largest number of scientific expedition members and the most advanced instruments and equipment is a feat of human beings in carrying out high-altitude comprehensive scientific expeditions and research in the Mount Everest region.

  At 3 a.m. this morning, one scientific expedition climber left at an altitude of 8,300 meters due to frostbite on his hand. The remaining 12 expedition summiters have departed from the assault camp at an altitude of 8,300 meters and are expected to arrive at 8,800 meters at around 9 am. The weather station, launched a series of scientific research tasks.

What are the tasks of the summit expedition?

  After the 12 scientific expedition climbers reached the summit, what scientific expedition tasks did they have? Let's find out together.

  On the morning of May 4, the 12 scientific expedition summiters will be divided into three groups to complete three tasks at the same time after reaching the summit.

This includes setting up the world's highest weather station at 8,800 meters, measuring the thickness of ice and snow with high-precision radar, and conducting experiments on the adaptation mechanism of the human body at extremely high altitudes.

As the summit is imminent, the scientific research team at the base camp is also very concerned and communicated through intercom.

At noon on May 3, 2022, the 5200-meter base camp had a dialogue with the scientific expedition summit team:

  Tsering Sangzhu, the commander at the rear of the scientific expedition summit team: Zha team, what time do you expect to arrive at 8,300 meters.

  Zha Ping, deputy leader of the "Peak Mission" Everest scientific expedition to the top of the scientific expedition team: We may reach 8300 meters at six or seven in the afternoon, and now we need to add something at 7790 meters.

Then go up again.

  Tsering Sangzhu, the rear commander of the scientific expedition summit team: Okay, hard work.

Pay attention to safety, be sure to take precautions to keep warm, and protect yourself.

Waiting for the news that you reach 8300 meters.

  On the way to start the expedition to the summit, the expedition climbers checked and debugged the automatic weather stations that had been erected at altitudes of 7028 meters, 7790 meters and 8300 meters along the way.

  Zhao Huabiao, a project researcher at the Institute of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Chinese Academy of Sciences: The current difficulty is the installation time, because the time at high altitude cannot be too long, because they are an amount of oxygen, and physical strength is to allow them to be installed quickly.

The second is whether the data can be sent back immediately after installation, because if there is a problem, it is not easy to solve it.

  Detecting the thickness of snow and ice on the peak is also the focus and difficulty of this scientific expedition.

The equipment brought by the climbers is mainly high-precision ground penetrating radar.

In addition to measuring the summit, these radars also measure the entire Everest Rongbuk Glacier.

  Yang Wei, project researcher of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences: High-precision lidar scans elevation changes to see the changes of its glaciers‌

5,800 meters above sea level, the road to the East Rongbuk Glacier Ice Tower Forest

  The "Peak Mission" Mount Everest scientific expedition is a landmark scientific expedition activity of the second Qinghai-Tibet scientific expedition. The scientific expedition team members will climb to an altitude of 5,800 to 6,700 meters to drill ice cores, measure ice thickness with radar, and collect snow. Such as the scientific examination work.

Therefore, the road from the Dongrongbu Glacier Bingtalin Road, which is 5,800 meters above sea level, is a road that must be experienced by the high-altitude scientific research team to see the experience of the reporters from the main station.

  Headquarters reporter Tang Wei: My current location is the transition camp at an altitude of 5,800 meters. Today, I will go to the forward camp at an altitude of 6,500 meters. This way happens to be the most densely distributed area of ​​Dongrongbu Glacier. We were fortunate to invite Professor Li Zhen from the Ice Core Group of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Research Institute to accompany us all the way.

  As soon as we left the camp at an altitude of 5,800 meters, it was a very steep uphill. We put on light clothes and climbed hard from the valley.

After half an hour, our route became very clear, that is, we had to follow the moraine in the middle of the two branches of the East Rongbu Glacier all the way up.

From an aerial perspective, the two branches of the East Rongbu Glacier appear in a huge "X" shape, and the ice tower forest glows a pale blue, which is spectacular under the sunlight.

  Head office reporter Tang Wei: Now our altitude has reached about 6,000 meters above sea level, and every step of taking a breath is very cramped. Now we have come to the most spectacular place in the East Rongbu Glacier Ice Tower Forest.

  Reporter: I see the individual differences of each of the Ice Tower Forest are very big, why is this?

  Li Zhen, professor of ice core group at the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Research Institute: Glaciers mean rivers, and our glaciers are also rivers, but they are ice, flowing, and glaciers are also flowing. During this period, the temperature suddenly rises, the flow below is fast, the ice is disconnected and pulled apart, forming a section one by one.

  As the altitude climbs, the temperature gradually drops, and the wonders of the ice tower forest are more and more visible. You can see that this ice tower forest looks like a general with a bull's head, and the horns point to the sky. It looks like a throne, waiting for the frozen ice lake...

  (Headquarters reporter Chen Qin, Tang Wei, Zha Wang Qiangjiu, Zhao Yaolam)