An SEUer Participates in Constructing New Antarctica Station

China’s fifth research station in Antarctica, the Qinling Station, started operation just before the Chinese New Year of Dragon. Jiang Hanlin, an alumnus of SEU from the Class of 2023 and a staff member of the Polar Research Institute of China, participated in the construction mission.  

As the largest single building in Antarctica, the Qinling Station is located on Inexpressible Island on the coast of the Ross Sea in Victoria, East Antarctica. Due to its harsh climate, it is one of the areas least affected by human activities on Earth and few countries build stations there.

As introduced by Jiang Hanlin, to complete the construction of the new station before the onset of the Antarctic winter in February, the Qinling Station adopted an advanced prefabricated steel structure frame + modular box room + thermal insulation, and decorative integrated exterior maintenance panel system. The special-grade steel features a strength grade of Q355NH E-class weather-resistant steel and a low-temperature impact performance under -40℃. To ensure the on-site quality, prefabricated steel structural parts, and functional modules were customer-made domestically and then transported to Antarctica for on-site assembly.

Just when the project was progressing smoothly, a hurricane was brewing. The Qinling Research Station, once established, was designed to withstand Beaufort-scale 17 hurricanes. However, during its construction, a complete resistance system had not yet been established, making the station difficult to withstand hurricanes. At this stage, the research station is at its most vulnerable. Based on the forecast, in the next two days, the maximum wind speed can reach more than 35 meters per second, equivalent to a Beaufort-scale 12 hurricane.

At that time, the new station was in a critical period for the installation of curtain wall panels. The result of not closing it at once might cause the installed curtain wall panels to be blown away, and all the previous efforts would be wasted. Full closure would take at least 3 days, but the time left for the workers was only 10 hours.

The expedition team immediately decided to urgently close the windward side of the new station, unveiling a violent battle against time. The construction site was in full swing, but the outdoor temperature was extremely low, with snowflakes floating in the sky, and the katabatic wind blowing from the Antarctic inland, as freezing as the cold air coming from the freezer of a refrigerator.

Just a few hours after all construction operations were completed, a Beaufort-scale 12 hurricane arrived! Thanks to the timely closure, everything remained normal inside the new station amid the roaring hurricane. To complete the construction tasks as scheduled, the internal construction resumed during the hurricane. Workers lined up, holding onto a rope for shuttling between the construction site and the dormitory.

Lasting for 3 days, the hurricane eventually stopped. After 72 hours of continuous hurricane impact, the new station stood unscathed in the Ross Sea, Antarctica! As the storm passed, the sun’s rays shone brightly on the curtain wall panels of the research station, bursting out a bright and dazzling light.

Jiang Hanlin graduated from Prof. Feng Ruoqiang’s research team at the School of Civil Engineering, SEU in 2023 with a Master’s Degree. He said, “I dreamed of going to Antarctica 10 years ago, and it is my great honor to realize my dream and make contributions to my country in the first year after my graduation. Life in Antarctica was full of challenges and wonders. Every day, I learn something new in extreme circumstances. In cooperating with my teammates, I deeply understood the power of unity and faith, as we overcame difficulties together. My past dream keeps inspiring me all the time. I think I will return to Antarctica one day again to continue contributing to China’s polar cause.”