China's Jiaolong submersible completed it's 14th dive of the 2024 Western Pacific Expedition on Friday, marking the successful conclusion of the international dive work on this voyage, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources.
With eight foreign scientists and three scientists from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) aboard, Jiaolong deep-sea manned submersible dived toward six seamounts and one ocean basin in the Western Pacific.
"The scientific expedition team members on this voyage come from 9 countries and regions. Everyone has their own expertise in ocean biology, marine geology and other aspects. We jointly try to promote international cooperative research on deep-sea biodiversity and achieve sustainable development," said Qiu Jianwen, co-chief Scientist of the 2024 Western Pacific Expedition.
According to the scientific expedition team, the seamounts in the Western Pacific have high biodiversity, with significant differences in the distribution of species and composition of organisms on different sides of seamounts and in different water depths.
Many deep-sea cold-water coral forests and sponge fields have been discovered, and the dominant biological groups are eight-flowered corals and glass sponges.
In the next period of time, the scientist representatives and crew members of the 2024 Western Pacific Expedition team will also hold"Deep Sea Classroom" on campus and science popularization activities with primary and secondary school students in Hong Kong SAR and Qingdao via video link.
China's Jiaolong submersible completes 14th dive of 2024 Western Pacific Expedition
China's Jiaolong submersible completes 14th dive of 2024 Western Pacific Expedition
China's Jiaolong submersible completes 14th dive of 2024 Western Pacific Expedition
