EXPLORER 2 AND STRIVER - SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
News: China
takes lead in mapping the deep
What's in the news?
● It
is usually the sightings of the Chinese military's latest warships, and the
occasional submarine, that attract the most attention in the crystal clear
waters off this tropical island in the South China Sea.
Explorer 2:
● Explorer
2 is a green-and-white vessel that might pass for an unremarkable trawler.
● Departing
from Sanya's Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering (IDSSE), the vessel
has made increasingly frequent forays into some of the least explored parts of
the world's oceans, carrying with it one of the most advanced deep-sea submersibles, as well as China's ambitions
to dominate the still evolving, yet highly competitive, field of deep sea
exploration.
Fendouzhe or Striver:
● Striver
is a manned submersible plunged to a then record
depth of more than 10,000 meters in 2020.
● In
December 2021, the Striver explored the Mariana Trench, the world's deepest.
● At
the Kermadec Trench in the Pacific
Ocean, the submersible created several firsts, observing for the first time
anemones at a depth of 8,880 meters and fish feeding on shark remains at 9,900 meters.
IDSSE:
● The
scientific mission of the IDSSE, which is jointly run by Beijing's elite
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the country's premier scientific in-
stitution, and the Hainan provincial government, is in line with Mr. Xi's
current push to establish China as a
science and technology power.
● The
institute has been given 30 billion Yuan ($4.3 bil- lion) in grants for the 400
projects it is currently pursuing. Its mission is to create "a China-led
global deep sea scientific research programme with joint participation by
numerous major international deep-sea research teams".
● The
Kermadec project was run along with New Zealand, while IDSSE is China's
designated member of the BRICS "Marine and Polar Science" working
group.
Significance:
● IDSSE
say their main mission is understanding what lies at the depths of little
understood ocean trenches.
● From
the ecological perspective, it will be helpful to monitor long term changes to
mining areas, how long it takes to recover, and so on.
● Only
the U.S., France and Russia have similar capabilities, the China has developed
the deep sea studies.