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Scientists size up 'Mother Goddess' mountain
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-05-04 05:57
China has built an automatic meteorological
observation station at an elevation of 6,500 metres on Mount Qomolangma - or
Mount Everest as it is also known - the world's highest mountain.
The station, located at a narrow pass on Dongrongbu Glacier, will be used
mainly for observing the condition of energy and materials conversion at high
elevation areas, said Jing Zhefan, an associate professor in charge of the
project.
Jing defined energy conversion as observation of atmospheric temperatures,
pressure, humidity, solar radiation intensity, heat flux and atmosphere
turbulence, and the conversion of materials as the collection of air and aerosol
samples and snowfall and snow pit samples.
"By observing the data, we'll learn about the processes of energy and
material conversion on Qomolangma and be able to provide an accurate explanation
of the paleoclimate at the core of the snow-ice world," said Jing.
In 2001, Chinese scientists set up a meteorological observation centre on the
same spot. The equipment and the data stored in it, however, have disappeared.
To ensure the normal operation of the station, some members of the team will
remain until October, with data collected each April.
The building of the meteorological observation centre is part of China's
fourth comprehensive scientific survey of Qomolangma - which in Tibetan means
the mountain of the Mother Goddess.
Bad weather
Efforts by Chinese scientists to re-survey its heights encountered a greater
challenge than expected, as they repeatedly had to postpone their ascent to the
top to take measurements due to bad weather.
They planned to climb on May 5, but were forced to delay.
"Judging the current weather conditions, the climb is not likely to happen
until after May 15," said Yue Jianli, an official with the State Bureau of
Surveying and Mapping, and one of the team working on the programme.
Meteorological observations show that moderate to fresh gales have been
reported around the base camp area since the beginning of April, with winds of
Force 12 reported. Nighttime temperatures have been averaging minus three
degrees, with the lowest -7 centigrade, and daytime highs of no more than six to
seven degrees.
A snow storm at 6,500 metres above sea level on April 19 lowered the
nighttime temperature to -20 degrees.
But despite the bad weather, preparations for the climb are proceeding, said
Yue.
Base camp has been set at 5,300 metres above sea level and scientists and
mountaineers who will attempt the summit are currently adapting to the
elevation, low temperatures and lack of oxygen at high altitudes. Another camp
has been established at 8,300 metres.
Instruments and equipment have been transported to six surveying sites,
located between 5,200 and 6,300 metres, from where surveyors can see the top of
the mountain.
Once a survey beacon is erected on the peak, simultaneous measurements of its
height will be taken from each of the six sites using the beacon as a reference
point.
This will be the second measurement China has made of the mountain. The
first, in 1975, measured the peak at 8,848.13 metres.
The snow-covered mountain top is believed to have grown 10 millimetres per
year since then, and the environment of Qomolangma has changed a lot in past
three decades.
The survey of the peak's height is a part of China's fourth large-scale
comprehensive scientific survey of Qomolangma, jointly organized by the Chinese
Academy of Sciences, the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping and the regional
government of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Scientists will also conduct research into the impact of global warming on
glaciers and make observations of atmospheric physics and chemistry,
bio-diversity and environmental changes in the Himalayan region, said Zhang
Jiangqi, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
A monument will be erected at the mountain's base camp to mark the measuring
team's efforts. The final result is expected to be announced in August.
The first recorded measurement of the mountain was reportedly in 1852 by an
Indian mathematician and surveyor Radhanath Sikdar who estimated it was 29,000
feet high. At the time in the West it was known simply as Peak XV.
A decade or so later it got the name Mount Everest after
the then British Surveyor General, Sir George Everest.
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