Zhongshan Station serves as the logistical hub of Chinese scientific research activities in East Antarctica and in the near future it will be a support platform for the new Kunlun Station to be constructed at Dome A. Situated in a small ice-free coastal region between the ice sheet and the ocean, Zhongshan Station serves as a base for scientists conducting research at the station and out in the field.
In his latest report, SciencePoles reporter Jean de Pomereu not only gives readers an update on the latest happenings at Zhongshan, where he is currently based, but he also talks about some of the notable scientific research China is undertaking from Zhongshan Station, including:
- PANDA, a multidisciplinary cluster of research projects focusing on the ice mass balance, ice dynamics, and ice-ocean interaction in East Antarctica - China's leading research contribution to the IPY.
- Studies of lower and upper atmospheric physics, atmospheric chemistry, meteorology and katabatic winds.
- Studies of the geological and tectonic history as well as hunting for meteorites in the nearby ice-free Groves Mountains.