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China-Iceland Arctic Science Observatory inaugurated in northern Iceland
OSLO, Oct 19, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – The China-Iceland Arctic Science
Observatory was inaugurated and officially began operation on Thursday in
northern Iceland.
The observatory, which is located at Karholl, some 66 km east of Akureyri
in northern Iceland, is a joint project by Chinese and Icelandic research
institutions to further the scientific understanding on Arctic phenomena.
Currently, the observatory can accommodate 15 people in a work/live
facility for research on various scientific studies, such as aurora,
atmosphere, glacier and remote sensing.
With some modifications, parts of the observatory can also be used for
research in other scientific fields, such as oceanography, geophysics and
biology.
In 2013, the Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC) and the Icelandic
Centre for Research (RANNIS) decided to jointly build an aurora observatory.
The Chinese institute proposed in 2017 to upgrade the aurora observatory to
the China-Iceland Arctic Science Observatory that will enable not just aurora
observations, but also research on atmosphere, oceanography, glacier,
geophysics, remote sensing and biology. The Icelandic side has voiced its
full support for the proposal.
The Arctic observatory will help China in its polar research as the country
has already set up four research stations in Antarctica and one Arctic
research station on Svalbard, Norway.
BSS/Xinhua/MRI/0903 HRS