{"id":25674,"date":"2026-01-16T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T17:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/?p=25674"},"modified":"2026-01-16T05:06:52","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T10:06:52","slug":"china-takes-a-manned-submersible-to-the-forbidden-ground-5277-meters-below-the-arctic-and-what-it-records-on-the-gakkel-ridge-could-change-maps-and-theories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/china-takes-a-manned-submersible-to-the-forbidden-ground-5277-meters-below-the-arctic-and-what-it-records-on-the-gakkel-ridge-could-change-maps-and-theories\/25674\/","title":{"rendered":"China takes a manned submersible to the \u201cforbidden ground\u201d 5,277 meters below the Arctic, and what it records on the Gakkel Ridge could change maps and theories"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For the first time, scientists have used a crewed scientific submersible to slip beneath thick Arctic pack ice and reach a hidden mountain range on the ocean floor. A Chinese expedition used the deep-sea vessel Fendouzhe to dive 5,277 meters and survey the eastern Gakkel Ridge<\/a>, a previously unseen stretch of seafloor between Greenland and Siberia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working from the new research ship Tan Suo San Hao, the team carried out 43 dives during a roughly three month voyage. Reports from Nature<\/a> and from official Chinese science agencies say the mission opens a rare window on a region that could host unusual deep-sea life and reveal how a fast-warming Arctic is changing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reaching one of Earth\u2019s last untouched seafloors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Gakkel Ridge is an underwater volcanic mountain chain buried beneath sea ice that runs between Greenland and Siberia. It forms part of the global network of mid-ocean ridges<\/a> where tectonic plates move apart and new ocean crust slowly forms, usually far from public attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scientists had previously seen the ridge only on sonar maps and in a few short surveys with uncrewed vehicles. A 2003 Nature<\/em> study on the western Gakkel Ridge revealed hot hydrothermal vents there, but the eastern side stayed off limits, so Huang has called this sector the last piece of the puzzle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read More: Astronauts photograph from the ISS a red electrical phenomenon exploding above storms at altitudes of up to 89 kilometers (about 55 miles)\u2014a phenomenon that for decades seemed nothing more than a pilot\u2019s legend<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A new way to dive beneath drifting ice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To reach the ridge safely, the Ministry of Natural Resources<\/a> and the Chinese Academy of Sciences ran a joint Arctic mission pairing Fendouzhe with the ice-capable research ship Tan Suo San Hao. The report describes a ship-submersible coordination method<\/a> that let the crew work where sea ice covered over 80 percent of the water and Fendouzhe completed 32 dives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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