HermeticulouseffortsandassertivenesshaveenabledHantomeetandovercomeallchallengesinherworkasamarinegeologist.ONfirstmeetingHanXiqiuyougettheimpressionofawomanwhoisdefinitelyintellectual,butfriendlyandoutgoingtoo.ButyouwouldneverimaginethatsheisaprominentfigureinChina’smarinescience.
HanisthefirstwomantobeappointedchiefscientistontheDayangYihao(OceanNo.1),thecountry’smainresearchvessel,andalsothefirstfemalechiefscientistinChina’shistoryofmaritimeexploration.DuringhercareerasamarinegeologisthermeticulouseffortsandassertivenesshaveenabledHantomeetandovercomeallchallenges.
HanisvicedirectorofthesubmarinegeosciencelaboratoryattheSecondInstituteofOceanographyoftheStateOceanicAdministration,andvicedeanoftheOceanCollegeofZhejiangUniversity.Shedescribesherjobas“exploringtreasuresontheseabed,”andmaritimeresearchasexploringtheunknowninthevastoceananddeepseabedenvironment.China’smarineresearchteamledbyHansearchesoutmineralresourcesintheinternationalseabedarea,andmakesapplicationstotheInternationalSeabedAuthority(ISA)forauthorizationtoconductminingoperations.ItthusbothsafeguardsChina’srightsandinterestsintheinternationalseabedarea,anddevelopsresourcesforallhumankind.
TieswiththeDeepOcean
HanwasborninTaizhouCityofZhejiangProvince.SheenteredtheChengduInstituteofGeology,predecessortotoday’sChengduUniversityofTechnology,in1986.Heroutstandingacademicperformancegainedherrecommendationforadmissiontograduateschool.Afterreceivingherpostgraduatedegreein1993,shestartedtoworkattheSecondInstituteofOceanographyoftheStateOceanicAdministration.Itwastherethatshechangedherresearchareafromterrestrialtomarinegeology,soformingabondwiththedeepsea.In2001,HanobtainedaPhDinstructuralgeologyfromZhejiangUniversity.In2002,shewasavisitingscholartotheUniversityofKielinGermany.ThereshejoinedtheGermanmarineresearchteamonfouroceantrips,andgainedrichpracticalexperience.
In2005,Chinalauncheditsfirstround-the-globevoyage.Hanwasselectedasassistanttothechiefscientistandparticipatedindesigningeachlegofthevoyage.In2007,HanembarkedontheOceanNo.1’s19thtransoceanicvoyage,duringwhichsheandherfellowteammembersdiscoveredablacksmoker,or“blackchimney”asHandescribedit.Theblackchimneyisahydrothermalventontheoceanfloorformedwhenseawaterthathaspercolateddownthroughfissuresontheoceancrustisheatedbyhotmagmaandreemergestoformthevents.Thewateraroundtheventisrichindissolvedminerals,mostnotablysulfides.Thosemineralsprecipitate,formingablackchimney-likestructurearoundeachvent,hencethenameblackchimney.Thediscoverymarkedthefirsttimeablacksmokerhadbeenfoundintheworld’smid-oceanridge.Hanwasappointedaschiefscientistofthethirdphaseofthevoyage,sobecomingthefirstfemalechiefscientistinChina’smaritimeexplorationhistory.
In2010,Hanwasagainappointedaschiefscientistintheseventhphaseofthe21stvoyageontheOceanNo.1.Sheandherteamdiscoveredinthemid-rangeofthesouthwesternIndianOceanalargescalemineraldepositwithsulfidesandmanyotherminerals,andmultiplehydrothermalfields.Aschiefscientist,shehadtheprivilegeofnamingthearea.ShechristeneditYuhuangMountain,thenameofamountaininherhometowninZhejiang.IthasbeenincludedintheGlobalDatabaseofActiveSubmarineHydrothermalVentFieldscompiledbyInterRidge.
“Itwasindeedagreathonortonamethearea,”Hansaidproudly.“Chinalaysgreatstoreonnamingmarineresearchwork.Ithasalsoestablishedasystemforspecifyingthenamesofseabedstructures.Forexample,itstipulatesclearlythekindofstructurethatcanbenamedaseamountorahill.”
In2015,theStateOceanicAdministrationannouncedthe124Chinesenamedseabedgeo-entities,amongwhich11geo-entitiesandfourhydrothermalventsintheIndianOceanwerediscoveredandnamedbyHan’steam.ShegavetheseunderseafeaturesbothgeographicnamesandthosethatreflectelementsofChineseculture.
WomanofScience
Oceanscover71percentoftheEarth’ssurface,andthevastseafloorremainsunexploredandhencemysterious.Hanlikensunderseaexplorationtosearchingforaseashellintheocean.“Oncewespotanysignsortracesweimmediatelyconductroundsofstudies,andthensetoffonjourneysofexploration.Wemustbemeticulousthroughoutthewholeprocessbecausewecan’taffordtomakeanymistakes,”Hansaid.Infact,Chinahasbeenattheworldforefrontofmarinescientificresearchandofminingoperationsintheinternationalseabed.
Oneachvoyagebothscientistsandcrewmustenduretoughlivingconditionswhileconductingscientificre-search.“Inthefieldofscience,genderdifferencesmeannothing.Weearnrespectthroughourresearchresults.Peopletreatyounodifferentlyjustbecauseyouareawoman,”Hansaid.
Han’smostunforgettableexperiencewasherdiscoveryofYuhuangMountainin2010.“Atthattimewehadencounteredmanydifficulties,especiallybadweather.Butwesuccessfullyconductedsurveysofunderwaterterrainandgainedmanysamples,achievementsthatwereboththrillingandgratifying,”Hansaid.
KeentoPopularizeScience
“AsamemberoftheCommunistPartyofChina,Iamalwaysreadyandwillingtopursueadvancementinadditiontobeingenthusiasticandmeticulousinmywork,”Hansaid.
OnApril16of2016–the47thEarthDay–Hanwasinvitedtomakeaspeechtitled“ToExploretheDeepSea”atTongjiZhejiangCollege,aspartoftheefforttopopularizescience.“It’seasiesttoarouseyoungpeople’sinterestinsciencebylettingthemparticipateinvariousscientificactivities.Thismakesthemcuriousandpassionateaboutscience.”
AlthoughHan’sworkalwayskeepsherbusy,sheiskeentopopularizescience,andoftengivestalksatmiddleschoolsanduniversities.In2016,shewasinvitedbypopularChineseInternetbasedcommunityforscienceandtechnologypopularizationGuokrtointroducerelevantknowledgeaboutmarinescientificresearchviatheInternet.Han’senthusiasticparticipationinpublicwelfareactivitieswonheranawardin2015fromtheChinaAssociationofWomenScientificWorkersforhercontributionstosociety.
“Ifeelreallyluckytobeascientist.Noteveryonehastheopportunitytoobservethedeepseaterrainpersonally.ItisapreciousexperiencethatIamhappytoshare,”Hansaid.
“Infact,manyscientistsarebornintoordinaryfamilies.Theymakegreatachievementsthroughunremittingefforts,andtheirstoriescanbetrulyinspiring.”Hanhopesthatmediamightpaymoreattentiontoscientistsandtheirachievements,andsoarousepeople’sinterestinscience.
HanXiqiu,representativeoftheZhejiangdelegation,makesaspeechatameetingduringthe18thNationalCongressoftheCommunistPartyofChina.Surveys
"Wesuccessfullyconductedsurveysofunderwaterterrainandgainedmanysamples,achievementsthatwereboththrillingandgratifying."