OnMarch8,theshipcrossedpathswithastrongtyphoonthrowingseawatereightmetershigh.Thick,whitewavesshotupfromthedarkbluesurges,pullingtheshipforwardlikeagallopinghorse.Cupsandtablewarefelltothegroundanddrawersopenedandclosedlikeanimpromptusymphony.
Thetripwasonlythethirdlegofthe43rdoceanexpeditionbyChinesescientists.ThefirstcountrytosignacontractgrantingrightstopolymetallicsulfideexplorationinthesouthwesternIndianOcean,Chinadispatchedtheteamtoconductprimaryexplorationofthecontractzone.
Xiangyanghong10anchoredatQingdaoWharf.Xinhua“GoldRush”intheDeep
Whetherroaringwavesorsilkytranquility,thecrewisconstantlyengulfedbyboundlessblue.Whatishidingbeneaththeseveralthousandsofmetersofmysteriouswater?
Aroboticarmanddeep-seagrabbucketfittedwithacameradropsdeepintothewater.Afteraboutanhour,itreaches2,000metersdown:Nothingcanbeseen,notplantsorfish.Themonitordisplaysonlyblackbasaltandsandysediments.
Ifyouarepatient,however,theworldwillsurpriseyou.Occasionally,thecamerafindsredcoral,whitespongesandafewunknowncreatures.
Duetothedarkness,lowtemperaturesandhighpressure,lifeisseverelyrestrictedonthedeepseafloor.“It’shardtobelievethatanythingcouldsurvivedownthereat2to4degreescentigrade,”opinesLuShihui,assistanttothechiefscientistoverseeingthemission.Crewmembersatwork.Comparedtothecolorfulvistasscubadiversmightsee,veteranoceanicexplorerLupreferssolidrockyribbonsoftaupe,red,andyellow,whichindicatethepossibilityofdepositsforwhichtheyhunt:polymetallicsulfide—amineralrichwithmetalssuchascopper,zinc,andsilverandapotentialresourcethatsomecountrieshavealreadyexplored.
TheChineseteamconsistsofmorethan60members,whostudythemiddleridgesofthesouthwesternIndianOceanat2,000to4,000metersindepth.
In2011,ChinaOceanMineralResourcesR&DAssociation(COMRA)signedacontractwiththeInternationalSeabedAuthority(ISA)givingitexclusiverightstoexplorepolymetallicsulfidein10,000squarekilometersoftheinternationalseabedfor15years.Ascontracted,theChinesepartyshouldcompleteprimaryexplorationin2017,andfulfillitsobligationtoreturn50percentofthecontractedzoneby2019and75percentby2029,afterwhichtimetheremaining2,500squarekilometersoftheseabedwillremainitsexclusiveminingarea.
Allofthiswillbeworthwhileiflargedepositsofpolymetallicsulfidearelocated.Afterhoursofeffortsbythescientists,thebucketfinallyretrievessome“softmud”fromtheseafloor.
Thefinemudhasagranularfeel.Theteamlooksatitunderamicroscopeandnoticesthatmostofthegranulesaresphericalshellsofplanktonicforaminifera,aspeciesofplanktonfoundthroughouttheoceananditsfloors.Aftertheydie,theircalciumcarbonateshellsgraduallyfalltotheseafloor,creatingheapsandbecomingoneofthemajorsedimentsinthesea.
AsexplainedbyDengXianming,chiefscientistofthemission,theteamusesappropriatedevicestomeasurethechemicalelements,especiallymetalslikecopper,iron,andzincinthesedimenttoestimatethepossibilityofpolymetallicsulfidedeposits.
Thesleeve-fishcaughtbycrewmembersduringtheirsparetime.
Aphototakenunderthesea.LifeontheSea
AdventurecreepsnearasthesurfaceoftheseameltsfromCambridgebluetodeepnavy.
“Ithoughtofmyselfasasealover,”writescrewmemberChangDingyueinhisjournal.“Afterdaysandnightsontherealocean,IrealizedthatIjustlovedthebeach.”
Formanynovices,thefirstchallengeisseasickness.Insomecases,itfeelslikeanever-endingearthquakeorrollercoasterride.Xiangyanghong10,withatonnageof4,500,isstillaninsignificantspeckonthevastsea.
Mostpeoplestarttoovercomeitin72hours,buttheentireprocessofacclimatingtotherockingenvironmentisawarofwillpower.Everyonedevelopshisorherownmethodstoovercomeseasickness.Someplaycardsorchess,workoutinthegymorpurposelyinflictpaintoshiftfocus,andotherschoosetostandonthedeckandenjoytheseabreezeastheyseeeveryupanddownofthewaves.Thisstrategyisinspiredbythebeliefthatthedriverneversuffersfromcarsickness.
Asconditionsdeteriorate,theworstisstillyettocome.Thedailytollofsuchanexpeditionisunderstandablyhigh,sothecrewworksinshiftsaroundtheclock.
Inthetransitionalseasonbetweensummerandautumn,morefrequenttyphoonsmakeexplorationevenmoredangerous.
Whenthemachinereachesbetween2,000and3,000metersdeep,eachattempttoraiseorloweritisafiercefight.Once,thedevicealmostgotpermanentlystuckinaprecipitouscliff.Theexternalprotectivelayerofrigidtitaniumalloywasseverelywarped,leadingtoanequipmentfailureandlostsignals.Theoperationwascanceled,andthedevicewashauleduptoberepairedondeck.
Alongwiththesuffering,theseaalsocreatesbeautifulmemories.Asnightfalls,abrilliantblanketofstarsshattersthedarkness,creatingamomentofhappinessbeyonddescription.Fewfeellonelinessthankstothecompanyofcrewmates.Eachtimeitstops,theshipisquicklysurroundedbyhoveringbirds.Thecrewfeedsthem,becausethey’reconsideredasymbolofpeace.