Three Jilin University (JLU) team members - ZHANG Nan, GONG Da, and LIU Yuchen - returned to Changchun, capital of Northeast China’s Jilin Province, on March 9, 2024 after completing China’s 40th Antarctic expedition.

The expedition lasted four months and was a collaborative project between JLU, China University of Geosciences in Beijing, and the All-Russia Research Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources of the Ocean. It aimed at studying the subglacial environment of the Larsemann Hills in southeast Antarctica.

Using an ice-core drilling tool independently developed by JLU, the team successfully drilled through 545 meters of ice, retrieving nearly half a meter of subglacial bedrock. This achievement provides crucial data for future research on Antarctic glacier movements, subglacial environments, and tectonic structures.

The successful retrieval of the subglacial bedrock sample marked a significant advancement in China’s polar drilling technology, which has reached international standards.

It also represented the world’s first targeted geological sampling of subglacial bedrock within the deep Antarctic ice sheet. It’s currently the deepest underground bedrock drilling project in the East Antarctic region.

JLU has participated in China’s Antarctic expeditions since 2011, demonstrating 12 years of continuous progress in polar drilling.