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
在海洋深处住上一个月，是一种什么样的体验？这一科幻畅想将成为现实。
2月28日，国家重大科技基础设施“冷泉生态系统研究装置”（以下简称“冷泉装置”）在广州市全面启动建设。该项目包含了“海底实验室分总体”“保真模拟分总体”“保障支撑分总体”三部分，是我国自主研发的首个海陆结合的国家重大科技基础设施，装置规模和主要技术指标国际领先。
通过这一装置的建设和运行，将突破深海载人长周期驻留实验、超大潜深大型耐压结构安全性等科学挑战，可支持6人（3名操控人员、3名科学家）在2000米的深海底最长驻留30天。
据了解，冷泉装置由中国科学院南海海洋研究所牵头申报并承担建设，计划用5年的时间，建设面向冷泉生态系统的深海载人驻守型海底实验室与陆基保真模拟设施相融合的国际领先研究装置，支撑冷泉生态系统发育、化能合成生物演替和甲烷物态演化及其环境效应研究。冷泉装置建成后，将为探索深海极端环境下的生命起源及可燃冰等深海资源的绿色开发等前沿基础研究和高新技术研发提供先进的平台支撑。
“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变化驱动下，溢出海底进入海水的活动。而冷泉生态系统是指海洋生物利用海底冷泉渗出的化学物质为能源进行化能合成，发育成海底黑暗世界里独特的生态系统，具有黑暗、高压、低氧等理化特征，以可燃冰分解的甲烷为生源要素，通过化能合成作用而生生不息，被誉为“深海绿洲”。
冷泉生态系统承载着地球深部碳循环的密码，是研究极端环境生命适应机制、探索新型生物资源的战略要地。开展冷泉生态系统研究是可燃冰等深海资源绿色开发与深海科学研究的最佳切入点。冷泉装置将为冷泉生态系统的研究提供全新的视角和技术手段，加速相关领域的科研进展，为海洋科技领域研究树立新标杆。