China takes lead in mapping the deep

A bid for global scientific prestige and the promise of finding mineral wealth is spurring the country’s ocean exploration efforts

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.

Less noticed are the departures of the Explorer 2, 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.

So important is the IDSSE’s mission to Beijing that when the manned submersible Fendouzhe, or Striver, plunged to a then record depth of more than 10,000 metres in 2020, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a letter to the institute, pointing out that “the success of the Fendouzhe marks China’s ability to enter the world’s deepest oceans to carry out scientific exploration and research, and reflects the nation’s comprehensive strength in marine high technology fields.” Only the U.S., France and Russia have similar capabilities, according to Chinese scientists.

Researchers at the IDSSE say their main mission is understanding what lies at the depths of little understood ocean trenches. The work of deep sea research does, however, also carry the promise of unlocking untold commercial riches, given the growing global interest into deep sea exploration of mineral resources. Copper, gold, minerals and rare earth elements remain untapped on the sea bed.

“How are organisms adapted to life in the extreme environment of the ocean, in this least understood and remote environment? That is what we are exploring,” said Zhang Weijia, a deputy researcher at the IDSSE. Ms. Zhang said scientific research is also important in determining how resources can be exploited without damaging ocean environments. “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,” she said.