ResearcherChenXiaodong,atDalianUniversityofTechnology,isbusystudyingicecoresamplesobtainedfromChina'slatestArcticNorthPoleexpedition,whichreturnedonSept27.ChenisstudyingthepropertiesofArcticseaiceinordertocreatemodelingthatwillbeabletopredictchangescausedbyglobalwarming.TheexpeditionteamreturnedfromitsmissionaboardicebreakerXuelong2,havingcoveredmorethan15,500nauticalmiles(28,700kilometers)sinceJuly12.Chenandhiscolleaguesreached90degreesNorthlatitude,markingthefirsttimethataChineseresearchvesselhadperformedscientifictasksintheNorthPoleregion.ChenbecamethefirstChineseicemechanicsresearchertoreachtheNorthPoleandconducton-sitesampling.Hecollecteda0.52-cubic-metericeblocksampleand181icecoresamples.Amongtheicecoresamples,15werecollectedfromtheicefloeattheNorthPole.ThesesamplesareexpectedtofillthedatagapinChina'sresearchonthephysicalandmechanicalpropertiesofseaiceinthisregion."Inthefieldoficemechanicsresearch,DalianUniversityofTechnologyhasthestrongestandmostexperiencedresearchgroupinChina,"saidChen."We'vebeenworkingonthisforgenerations.I'mjustluckytohavebeensentonthisexpedition,"hesaid.Duringtheexpedition,Chenwasinvolvedintheonboardobservationofseaiceandthemeasurementofseaicemechanicalproperties,includingcarryingoutfieldtestsandcollectingdataontheice,aswellasconductingautomatedobservationsofseaiceparametersandusingdronesforobservation.ItwasthefirsttimethatthemechanicalpropertiesofArcticseaicehadbeenstudiedunderimpactloadbasedonin-situexperimentsbyaChineseresearcher.Chen,36,beganresearchingseaicemechanicsduringhismaster'sdegreeatDUTin2010.Priortothisexpedition,hehadparticipatedinfiveArcticresearchprojectsorganizedbydifferentinstitutions.Reflectingontheexpedition,henotedasignificantchangeintheseaiceconditions,withespeciallyseveremeltingthisyear.Duringthe78-dayjourney,Chenandotherresearcherscarriedoutcomprehensivesurveysontheatmosphere,hydrology,biologyandseaicealongtheroute.Theresearchersconductedaseriesofobservations,surveyingandsamplingoperationsinthecentralsectionofthePacificArcticregionandtheGakkelRidge,accordingtotheMinistryofNaturalResources.Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.