China to launch second North Pole tour ( 2003-07-13 08:06)
China will launch its second scientific expedition to the North Pole on July
15 from Dalian, a port city in northeast China's Liaoning Province.
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The "Snow Dragon" was a former Ukrainian
icebreaker | An ultra-modern icebreaker entitled "Snow Dragon", which had made the Arctic
journey in 1999, will carry 115 scientists from seven countries, including
China, the United States and Finland, to the North Pole for a 74-day research
expedition.
Zhang Zhanhai, the expedition's chief scientist, said on Saturday that his
team would study the effect of the North Pole on the global climate, especially
on China, and establish a comprehensive observation system for the Arctic region
to provide first-hand material for China's polar region research.
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The "Snow Dragon" near
Antarctica | China's first North Pole scientific expedition from July 1 to Sept. 9, 1999,
aimed to collect scientific resources on the ecological system in the Arctic
waters, and the atmosphere, geology, fishing, and marine environment of the
area.
Snow Dragon, which belongs to China's third generation of polar expedition
icebreakers, is equipped with advanced guidance systems, automatic steering and
experimental systems, including a 200 square meter laboratory and ocean research
instruments.
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