What is it like to live in the depths of the ocean for a month? This science-fiction-like concept is about to become a reality.
On February 28th, a major science infrastructure project in China, the "research facility of cold-seep ecosystem"(hereinafter referred to as the "cold-seep facility"), officially commenced in Guangzhou. The project consists of three main components: "a deep-sea laboratory," "an authentic simulation subsystem," and "a support and guarantee subsystem." It is China's first independently developed national major scientific and technological infrastructure integrating both land and sea research, with a globally leading scale and key technical indicators.
Through the construction and operation of this facility, scientists aim to overcome challenges such as long-term human habitation in the deep sea and the safety of ultra-deep, large-scale pressure-resistant structures. The facility will support six people (three operators and three scientists) in residing at a depth of 2,000 meters for up to 30 days.
The cold-seep facility is led and constructed by the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The project, planned for completion within five years, will integrate a deep-sea manned seafloor laboratory with a land-based high-fidelity simulation facility, making it an internationally leading research platform. This facility will support studies on cold-seep ecosystem development, chemosynthetic biological succession, methane phase evolution, and its environmental effects. Once completed, the cold-seep facility will serve as a cutting-edge platform for frontier research on the origin of life in extreme deep-sea environments and the sustainable development of deep-sea resources such as combustible ice.
"Cold seeps" refer to the process in which methane, hydrogen sulfide, and carbon dioxide seeping from beneath the seabed are released into the ocean due to geological shifts or pressure changes. A cold-seep ecosystem forms when marine organisms utilize these chemical substances as an energy source for chemosynthesis, developing into a unique deep-sea ecosystem in a world of perpetual darkness. This ecosystem, characterized by darkness, high pressure, and low oxygen levels, relies on methane derived from combustible ice decomposition as its primary energy source, sustaining life through chemosynthesis. It is often referred to as the "oasis of the deep sea."
The cold-seep ecosystems hold the key to Earth's deep carbon cycle and provide a strategic foundation for studying life adaptation mechanisms in extreme environments and exploring novel biological resources. Researching cold-seep ecosystems serves as an optimal entry point for the sustainable development of deep-sea resources like combustible ice and deep-sea scientific exploration. The cold-seep facility will offer new perspectives and technological tools for studying these ecosystems, accelerating advancements in related scientific fields, and setting a new benchmark for marine technological research.
Source: Lingnan On the Cloud
广东又添一重器！2000米海洋深处建空间站
在海洋深处住上一个月，是一种什么样的体会？这一科幻想象将成为实际。
2月28日，国家严重科技基础设备“冷泉生态系统研讨设备”（以下简称“冷泉设备”）在广州市全面发动建造。该项目包含了“海底试验室分整体”“保真模仿分整体”“保证支撑分整体”三部分，是我国自主研制的首个海陆结合的国家严重科技基础设备，设备规划和首要技术指标世界抢先。
经过这一设备的建造和运转，将打破深海载人长周期驻留试验、超大潜深大型耐压结构安全性等科学应战，可支撑6人（3名控制人员、3名科学家）在2000米的深海底最长驻留30天。
据了解，冷泉设备由中国科学院南海海洋研讨所牵头申报并承当建造，方案用5年的时刻，建造面向冷泉生态系统的深海载人驻扎型海底试验室与陆基保真模仿设备相交融的世界抢先研讨设备，支撑冷泉生态系统发育、化能组成生物演替和甲烷物态演化及其环境效应研讨。冷泉设备建成后，将为探究深海极点环境下的生命来源及可燃冰等深海资源的绿色开发等前沿基础研讨和高新技术研制供给先进的渠道支撑。
“冷泉”是指海底之下的甲烷、硫化氢和二氧化碳等气体在地质结构或压力改变驱动下，溢出海底进入海水的活动。而冷泉生态系统是指海洋生物使用海底冷泉渗出的化学物质为动力进行化能组成，发育成海底漆黑世界里共同的生态系统，具有漆黑、高压、低氧等理化特征，以可燃冰分化的甲烷为生源要素，经过化能组成作用而生生不息，被誉为“深海绿地”。
冷泉生态系统承载着地球深部碳循环的暗码，是研讨极点环境生命习惯机制、探究新式生物资源的战略要地。展开冷泉生态系统研讨是可燃冰等深海资源绿色开发与深海科学研讨的最佳切入点。冷泉设备将为冷泉生态系统的研讨供给全新的视角和技术手段，加快相关范畴的科研发展，为海洋科技范畴研讨树立新标杆。
文丨记者 李钢 通讯员 王鑫图丨南海海洋所冷泉设备办供给翻译丨曾敏审校丨赵凡
