Chinas 4，500-meter Submersible Finishes Indian Ocean Exploration

Chinas unmanned submersible Qianlong No.2 completed early last March its first exploration in the southwest Indian Ocean. The autonomous underwater vehicle （AUV） explored ocean areas rich in sulfide deposits that contain various metals， detected deep-sea terrains and also photographed sulfide， basalt and marine organisms.

The AUV， which is 3.5 meters long and 0.7 meters wide with a height of 1.3 meters， was independently designed by Chinese scientists. Capable of diving to a depth of 4，500 meters， it dived 16 times during the exploration from December 16， 2015 to March 4， 2016 in the southwest Indian Ocean.

The work of Qianlong No. 2 covered 218 sq km， and a maximum depth of more than 3.2 km， the AUVs chief designer and researcher with the Shenyang Institute of Automation under the Chinese Academy of Sciences Liu Jian said. “Though it has a weight of 1.5 tons， Qianlong No.2 can move vigorously in deepsea waters，” Liu added.

The AUVs work was carried out on the undulating mid-ridge of the southwest Indian Ocean， but there were no collisions throughout the whole exploration thanks to the vehicles advanced sonar technology， fellow researcher at the Shenyang Institute Xu Chunhui said.

The success of Qianlong No.2s trial exploration in the Indian Ocean has proved that the AUV can be put to work on deep-sea mineral resource investigations， as it can adapt to the complex ocean terrain and accomplish underwater tasks smoothly， Liu said.

Qianlong No.2 will play an important role in the future development and utilization of Chinas deep-sea resources， Liu concluded.

China， Thailand Sign MOU on Polar Science Cooperation

China and Thailand signed on April 6 an MOU on cooperation in polar science research， according to the State Oceanic Administration of China.

The MOU was signed between the Polar Research Institute of China and the Thailand National Science and Technology Development Agency， Chulalongkorn University， Purapha University， the National Institute of Development Administration， and the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand.

The MOU is a result of cooperation between the two countries under the framework of the Asian Forum for Polar Science.

Five Thai scientists have joined Chinas Zhongshan Station and Great Wall Station in Antarctica to conduct scientific research.

According to the MOU， the two countries will strengthen long-term cooperation in polar marine biology， oceanography， atmosphere and astronomy， geophysics， geochemistry， and other fields.

First Desert Robots to Monitor Sandstorms

A team of scientists in Northwest China have developed two specialized robots that will record sand and dust levels relevant to desertification.

The robots， one six-legged with a loading capacity of eight kg， the other wheeled with an 80 kg loading capacity， can measure wind speed， air pressure， humidity， sand vibration， and wind erosion， member of Ningxia University research team Yang Zelin said.

The robots， which are equipped with solar panels， use microwaves to relay data over a 25 km radius. They can run for one hour， Yang said.

Desert data are mainly collected from aerological stations， because it has hitherto been difficult to collect on-the-ground information.

“The various sensors installed on the robots are only 50 cm from the ground， so offering us the much needed in situ data we require，” Yang said.

The robots are the result of a collaboration project between Ningxia University， Shanghai Jiaotong University， University of Pennsylvania， and the Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Chinas "Tianqin" Program Starts Infrastructure Construction

China started on March 20 to build infrastructure for its "Tianqin" gravitational wave research project in the southern coastal city of Zhuhai.

Sun Yat-sen University， initiator of the program， held a foundation stone laying ceremony on its Zhuhai campus for a 30，000-sq-m research building， a 10，000-sq-m ultra-quiet cave laboratory， and a 5，000-sq-m observation station.

Meanwhile， the university is recruiting research staff for the international cooperation program run by Chinese scientists.

With an estimated cost of RMB 15 billion， Tianqin will be carried out in four stages over the next 15 to 20 years， ultimately launching three high-orbit satellites to detect the waves， according to Li Miao， dean of the universitys institute of astronomy and space science.

The discovery of gravitational waves by the American Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory （LIGO） last February has spurred scientists worldwide to accelerate their research.