I opened the small opening of the tent and looked out. There was a blue sky and white snow outside. Looking out from the snow, the snowflakes stood upright one by one like small pine trees. Under the sunlight with its face exposed on the horizon, they were crystal clear and gorgeous, and then gently falling. With a blow, the "pine forest" instantly collapsed and rippled on the extremely cold Antarctic ice sheet... This was an early morning in the inaccessible area of Antarctica in early 1989. This scene is still unforgettable for Qin Dahe.
As a member of the "1990 International Trans-Antarctic Expedition", this was his third time setting foot on the Antarctic ice cap. During this period, he encountered several snowstorms, suffered frostbite on his face, and had 10 teeth pulled out early due to scientific research. After wearing it, I lost more than 30 pounds, and it took half a year for my eating habits to slow down.
As the first person in my country and currently the only person to cross the Antarctic continent on foot, he is the only scientist in the world who has all the ice and snow specimens below one meter on the Antarctic surface. China won the " Volvo Environmental Award the first person" and led Chinese young scientists to create " The first person to create "ice-like snow" and the world's first research institution named after the science of the cryosphere, Qin Dahe is honored.
Recently, Qin Dahe has also won the International Geographical Union Highest Honor Award and the "The World is Beautiful Because of You - 2021-2022 Chinese Influence the World Ceremony" Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his achievements in cryosphere science, climate change and sustainability Outstanding contributions in development and other fields.
"Mad Scientist" Crosses the Polar Pole
The time goes back to 1989, and the 1990 International Trans-Antarctic Expedition is about to be held. At that time, Qin Dahe was serving as the deputy captain and wintering captain of China's Fourth Antarctic Expedition at the China Antarctic Great Wall Station.
This trans-Antarctic expedition is unprecedented in scale. It combines polar exploration and scientific investigation. It is an extremely arduous international cooperation activity. The event was held before the expiration of the Antarctic Treaty in 1991. The purpose was to emphasize the special significance of Antarctica as an environmental and biological reserve. Antarctica's rich resources will be the common wealth of mankind. The scientific research conducted here will be carried out in accordance with the Antarctic Treaty and its The spirit of cooperation and peace continues.
Qin Dahe has been yearning for this inspection for a long time. After learning the news, he took the initiative to volunteer for three reasons: first, he studied glaciers, and participating in the Antarctic ice sheet scientific expedition was his major, hobby, and strength; second, he had gone to Antarctica twice to participate in expeditions, and it was also at that time that he The only Chinese with experience in inland expeditions to the Antarctic ice cap; third, he is in good health and is qualified in foreign languages. The application was approved quickly.
Even with rich experience and sufficient mental preparation, Qin Dahe still did not dare to take it lightly. He knew that the greatest dangers lay in low temperatures and snowstorms.
The average temperature of the Antarctic continent is -25°C, but the top of the Antarctic ice sheet, which must be passed through during this crossing, has the world's lowest temperature record of -90°C. “With -15℃ plus wind, if you stay outside for 24 hours, it can be enough to kill someone.” Therefore, it is not only necessary to have cold protection equipment, but also to master “very detailed but very practical” methods such as wind protection and warmth preservation.
For example, due to sweating every day during the inspection, gloves, shoes and socks were wet at night. Therefore, after returning to the camp, you must dry them over a cooking fire immediately, and then tuck the socks into the quilt. If you don't dry your hands and feet the night before, you may get frostbite on your hands and feet the next day. "Although some techniques are unhygienic, they can very well solve the problem that threatens your life and safety."
As early as the 1980s, when Qin Dahe participated in the Australian Antarctic inland expedition, he encountered snowstorms many times. One time it lasted for ten days and nights. Vehicles were buried under snow. In the past, team members from other stations lost their way and froze to death not far from the camp while trying to get out of their tents during a snowstorm.
After two pre-departure training sessions, on July 27, 1989, the expedition team set off for a 220-day hiking scientific expedition. They marched non-stop from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, ranging from 2 to 55 kilometers a day, and for the first time walked through the inaccessible areas of the Antarctic ice sheet.
This is an almost unvisited area of about 1,500 kilometers from the South Pole to Orient Station . The temperature here is extremely low, the snow is soft, and walking is inconvenient, so you can't stay here for too long. Every night, the scientific expedition team would build a snow tower near the camp, "in case something goes wrong, it can be used as a mark."
But Qin Dahe caught a cold and fever midway, so the expedition team made an exception and rested in place for a day. He took one gram of aspirin, drank two to three liters of water, and slept for a day. The fever subsided the next day, and he followed the scientific expedition team on foot to the next area.
As one of the only two scientists in the team, Qin Dahe has to conduct snow and ice sampling and observation work every day after arriving at the camp and setting up camp. At key locations, he wore clean clothes like "Dabai" and dug 2-meter-deep snow pits. He took continuous samples every 2 centimeters and collected 100 samples. They recorded the earth's past decades or even hundreds of years. Environmental climate information. In order to prevent the snow samples from being contaminated, Qin Dahe could only conduct sampling alone, which took seven or eight hours.
However, there are regulations on weight-bearing during the hiking expedition. Qin Dahe was unwilling to give up the precious samples. After thinking for a long time, he reduced his clothes to a minimum, put the samples into a pillow, and successfully completed the sampling. From this, he was also called a "mad scientist".
"In the most difficult place in the inaccessible area, I sampled throughout the entire process without missing a single sampling point or losing a single sample. I fully completed the plan." Qin Dahe thus became the only person in the world who has continuous collection of samples below one meter above the Antarctic surface. He was very proud of the scientist who received the ice and snow specimens.
Two complementary experiences
Qin Dahe's two other commendable resumes are that he served as the director of the China Meteorological Administration for nearly 7 years, contributing to China's meteorological cause, and since 1995 he has participated in and led the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (IPCC) Scientific assessment work.
"The meteorological undertaking is a comprehensive undertaking. It not only measures the clouds and sky, accurately forecasts weather, but also predicts climate change, serves social economy and sustainable development, and serves the well-being of all mankind. This is our mission. Responsibilities." It may be related to his background as a scholar. After serving as the director of the Meteorological Bureau, Qin Dahe paid special attention to the scientific and technological content of meteorological work. "You must make scientific things very delicate and precise, and master the basic laws of weather operation. Only by giving accurate weather forecasts can we truly serve the local area and the people. "
Therefore, Qin Dahe gave the meteorological cause a "technological" position, emphasizing the use of the most advanced science and technology to guide meteorological operations, and believed that China's meteorology The undertaking is a "technological and basic social welfare undertaking".
Qin Dahe also participated in and led the IPCC assessment report. He believes that the two experiences complement each other: the scientific and technological support of the assessment work has improved his governance ability. In turn, as a manager, he can also seek truth from facts and make climate change response work according to scientific laws. .
Qin Dahe has worked at the IPCC for 21 years and served as co-chairman of the First Working Group of the Fourth and Fifth Assessment Reports, coordinating the joint work of scientists from different regions, countries, and disciplines around the world. During the work of
, the scientific discussions among scholars were very open and intense. Qin Dahe felt that he could come into contact with a lot of cutting-edge knowledge in the process. "Scientists participating in the IPCC have mastered the latest research progress in this subject in the world." During the work of
, China The significant increase in the number of scientists participating in the IPCC is due to the efforts of Qin Dahe. “Almost all the scientists I recommend have become academic leaders in various fields of climate system change science. The reason is that they understand the most cutting-edge knowledge of the current climate system science. There is no doubt that , their work is meaningful."
A lifetime relationship with ice and snow
"ice prophets of climate warming."During his work, Qin Dahe pays special attention to the impact of climate change on the cryosphere. In the past ten years, this impact has become more obvious: the glacier at the source of the Urumqi River in the Tianshan Mountains where he worked has intensified its retreat and split into two branches. In the 1980s, The ice tunnels built for research have long since melted away.
As global warming intensifies, the changes and warming of the cryosphere will have a major impact on human production, life and social and economic development. “Protecting the climate means protecting the cryosphere, and protecting the cryosphere means protecting the foundation of human existence. "
As the scholar who first proposed the concept of cryosphere science internationally and established the first State Key Laboratory named after cryosphere science, Qin Dahe has been deeply involved in this field. At the age of 75, he has not left it yet. Business". The textbook "Introduction to Cryosphere Science (Revised Edition)" he edited won the first National Excellent Textbook (Higher Education Category) Special Award. There are only 4 special awards, and the other 3 are ideological and political theory, Traditional Chinese Medicine Internal Medicine and Advanced mathematics shows its importance
Although the concept of cryosphere science is still slightly unfamiliar to the public compared to glaciers and permafrost, for Qin Dahe, “it is not only a basic science. It is also a promising major applied science ", and it is a career that he has persisted in throughout his life.
He gave an example that water resources are the lifeline for the survival and development of western China, and the development of these areas is related to cryosphere science. Closely related. Another example is how the Qinghai-Tibet Railway passes through the plateau frozen soil area, how to solve the snow blowing disaster on mountain roads in winter, and how to solve the impact of avalanches on mountain roads and people's safety. Because of this, they are also within the scope of cryosphere science. It is difficult for such work results to be published in academic journals with high impact factors, which has affected the development of the discipline to a certain extent. Qin Dahe felt sorry for this. In 2015, just before Beijing won the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, Qin Dahe was already keen. He realized that “cryosphere science has great potential.” China is located in a mid-low latitude monsoon climate zone with low temperatures and little snow in winter, and the temperature is rising due to global warming. Considering that the competition schedule lasts until March, “artificial snow is a must.” "
At that time, technical equipment such as ice making, snow making, and snow storage for winter ice and snow sports were "monopolized" by foreign countries. If foreign snowmaking experts were invited to participate in the work, the cost would be high. Therefore, one year before the Olympic bid, Qin Dahe We began to organize youth teams to conduct snow quality and meteorological observations in ski resorts such as Beijing and Zhangjiakou. Young scientists from Lanzhou, Beijing and Harbin worked closely to develop instruments, formulate national standards, apply for patents, and finally completed a suitable The production of "ice-like snow" for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics has enabled the "freedom of snow use" in ski resorts.
Qin Dahe said that he originally hoped to make ice independently, "but we really don't have the ability. In the future, we will have to rely on the wisdom and wisdom of young scientists." Work hard to make it happen! "
The icy snow on the Winter Olympics has brought Qin Dahe to attention again. Recently, he was also awarded the "The World is Beautiful Because of You-2021-2022 Chinese Influence the World Ceremony" Lifetime Achievement Award, which was jointly sponsored by Phoenix Satellite TV Group Many Chinese-language media at home and abroad jointly recommend and commend outstanding Chinese models who have achieved excellence in different fields and have global influence. However, he views the evaluation very rationally, "You must encourage and praise young people, don't praise me, if there are no young people. If we were to replace us, the cause (of cryosphere science) would be unsustainable. "
Some people believe that the brilliance of ice-like snow may help the development of cryosphere science, but Qin Dahe feels that this is just one of the opportunities. "Cryosphere science is certainly important to the Ice and Snow Winter Olympics, but the cryosphere and social economy Sustainable development, ecological environment protection, etc. are closely related, and are also closely related to international relations, geopolitics, etc.In the future of global warming, the future of cryosphere science is bright and promising! "
Reporter | Zheng Wuhui Editor | Lu Yi
On the evening of July 16 (Saturday), Guojiao 1573 "The World is Beautiful Because of You - 2021-2022 Chinese Influence the World Ceremony" was magnificently unveiled, and Qin Dahe came to the scene to receive the award. Phoenix Chinese Channel , European Channel, American Channel, and Hong Kong Channel (on the evening of July 17) will broadcast the live broadcast of the ceremony to the world. Phoenix New Media will also broadcast live online simultaneously. Let us see Qin Dahe awarded the "2021- The glorious moment of "Lifetime Achievement Award" at the 2022 Influence World Chinese Festival!
