Chinese universities to work together on polar research

Fifteen Chinese universities will form a joint center engaged in polar research, according the Ministry of Education (MOE).

The research center has a faculty made up of eight academicians, 94 professors, and 38 associate professors.

They will monitor and investigate the conditions of ecology, atmosphere, ocean, and glaciers in the polar regions, by sharing data with the research stations of other countries.

The MOE appointed Beijing Normal University (BNU) to push forward building the joint research center for polar regions.

Researchers from BNU have provided remote sensing support for ice condition surveys onboard the research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong, Chinese for Snow Dragon, six times since 2011.

"We will also transport advanced equipment and instruments there and establish joint observation stations," said Cheng Xiao, dean of the College of Global Change and Earth System Science at BNU.

According to the MOE, there are more than 20 universities nationwide which conduct polar field research.

Cheng expects the joint research center to integrate talent resources and cultivate more high-level personnel both in natural and social sciences as China develops its research in the Antarctic and Arctic regions.