China’s 42nd Antarctic expedition team, organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources, recently departed from Shanghai for the South Pole. Onboard the expedition vessel is the nation’s pioneering shipborne meteorological observation system, which brings advanced aerospace technology to polar research.
The shipborne meteorological observation system on the expedition vessel provides an integrated observation platform to support polar meteorology research. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
This innovative system was developed by Aerospace New Weather Technology Co., Ltd., a part of the 23rd Research Institute, a subsidiary of the Second Academy of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Limited. It represents China’s first containerized observation system for marine applications and stands as the most comprehensive integrated observation platform in the field of polar meteorology.
The system integrates more than ten types of observation instruments, including an automatic weather station, millimeter-wave cloud radar, and wind-measuring lidar. It enables simultaneous data acquisition from the sea surface to high altitudes and along navigation routes. Beyond conventional meteorological parameters, the system can collect specialized data such as raindrop spectra, radiation flux, temperature and humidity profiles, and wind profiles. This significantly broadens the range of meteorological data coverage, providing more complete data support for scientific research in polar meteorology.
(Executive editor: Yuan Ting)
