China's 42nd Antarctic Expedition Focuses on Qinling Station Finalization and Pioneering Subglacial Research

China's 42nd Antarctic expedition launched a seven-month mission from Shanghai on November 1, 2025, dedicated to completing the Qinling Station, the nation's fifth permanent research outpost on the continent. The deployment, supported by the icebreakers Xuelong and Xuelong 2, involves over 500 specialists from more than ten countries and regions collaborating on critical Antarctic science. The immediate objective is to bring the Qinling Station, located in the strategically significant Ross Sea region, to full operational status.

While preliminary work began in February 2024, the current phase, scheduled for completion by February 2026, involves intricate interior finishing, mechanical and electrical integration, the construction of an observation building, and the fine-tuning of the station's energy infrastructure. This commitment to sustainability is already evident: the station utilizes a sophisticated new energy matrix combining wind, solar, hydrogen, and traditional diesel power. In its initial eight months, renewable sources contributed 60% of the energy needs, conserving 150 metric tons of fuel and cutting carbon output by 350 tons.

Beyond infrastructure development, the expedition team will conduct multidisciplinary investigations across vital Southern Ocean zones, including the waters near the Antarctic Peninsula, the Amundsen Sea, the Ross Sea, and Prydz Bay. These studies are essential for understanding how the Southern Ocean ecosystem responds to accelerating global climate shifts. A pioneering element of the mission is China's first scientific penetration into deep inland Antarctic ice-covered lakes.

This effort employs entirely domestically engineered hot-water and thermal-melting drilling systems, a clean methodology designed to breach more than 3,000 meters of ice. The goal is to retrieve pristine samples from isolated subglacial lake environments and underlying geological formations, offering an unparalleled view into potential life in extreme conditions and providing data for long-term global climate modeling. The team is expected to return to China in May 2026, concluding a period of intense discovery and engineering advancement.