China's Jiaolong Submersible Prepares for 46 Dives During Its 83rd Sea Exploration

China's first independently developed manned submersible, Jiaolong, has arrived with its mother ship Shenhai Yihao (Deep Sea No. 1) in the hydrothermal area of the south Atlantic for the country's 83rd ocean expedition, the China Ocean Mineral Resources R&D Association (COMRA) announced on Saturday.

With a variety of conventional environmental survey equipment, the submersible is expected to carry out 46 dives during the voyage for marine biological environment research.

On January 27, Jiaolong completed its first dive in the south Atlantic with a depth of 3,350 meters, and successfully found hydrothermal vent communities and a large number of hydrothermal organisms. It also conducted measurement and sample collection operations there, obtaining samples such as shrimp and deep-sea mussels.

As of Wednesday, Jiaolong had successfully completed eight dives and conducted conductivity, temperature and depth exploration in multiple spots, said COMRA.

The 83rd expedition began on December 17, 2023 when the ship departed from Qingdao City, east China's Shandong Province. It is scheduled to return to the port in Qingdao this May.

The expedition is composed of 81 members from 19 institutes and universities, with a focus on scientific issues such as the relationship between mid-ocean ridge biodiversity and typical landforms, geographic zones of hydrothermal organisms and biological connectivity.