Recently, the researchers of the SIO who participated in China’s 13th Arctic Ocean Scientific Expedition successfully completed the geological and geophysical survey of Gakkel Mid-Ocean Ridge. The recovery rate of submarine seismographs reached 100%, setting a new record for the successful recovery of polar high-latitude compacted ice regions.

The geological and geophysical survey mission of this voyage focuses on the waters of Gakkel Mid-Ocean Ridge. Associate Researcher Shen Zhongyan, Assistant Researcher Liu Yanan and Doctoral Student Tong Zhengyi from the Key Laboratory of Submarine Geosciences, MNR of the SIO, and three Russian scientists collaborated to carry out survey tasks such as submarine topography and shallow formation profile survey, ship load magnetic survey, marine magnetotelluric instrument, submarine seismograph observation, gravity column sampling, gravel sampling, and hydrothermal submarine buoy deployment. The recovery rate of submarine seismographs deployed reached 100%, marking the further strengthened geophysical exploration capability of the SIO in high-latitude compacted ice regions.

During the voyage, the researchers of the SIO also over-fulfilled the topographic survey task of additional blocks in the mid-ocean ridge section east of the survey area, and took advantage of the arrival of Xuelong 2 at the North Pole to carry out the submarine topographic and gravity survey in the North Pole sea area for the first time.

The Gakkel Mid-Ocean Ridge is the slowest expanding mid-ocean ridge in the world. The geological and geophysical data and samples obtained from the survey will further reveal the unique deep structure, magmatic processes, and hydrothermal circulation mechanism of the ultra-slow expanding mid-ocean ridge, promote the United Nations Ocean Decade Program “Arctic Deep Observation for Multi-sphere Cycling (ADOMIC)”, and further deepen the cooperation between China and Russia in geophysical survey of the Arctic Ocean.