The South China Morning Post reports that Thai marine biologist Suchana Chavanich made history in 2013 when she became the first diver on a Chinese mission to Antarctica in 30 years.
Chavanich, an associate professor at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, joined the Chinese team to observe the behavior of underwater animals in the region, which could provide valuable insights into how climate change may impact these species and potentially even humanity as a whole.
Continued Antarctic Research
In recent years, the Southeast Asian nation has also emerged as a leader in polar research, particularly in Antarctica. Since 2016, Thailand has regularly sent scientists to join expeditions with the Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition.
SCMP tells us that these researchers are tasked with assessing the impact of climate change on the region and have made significant strides in understanding the amplified effects of global warming on the poles.
In September of this year, five Thai institutes renewed their memorandum of understanding with the Polar Research Institute of China, and a joint laboratory was established at China's Great Wall Station in Antarctica to serve as a research base for Thai scientists.
Thailand has also invested in its own research infrastructure in Antarctica, constructing a new research station in 2018. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Thailand's commitment to polar research remains strong, with the country's scientists continuing to collaborate with their counterparts from around the world.
Reasons For Polar Research
One of the key reasons for studying the poles is their largely untouched environments, which serve as natural laboratories. These environments mimic a world without humans, making them ideal for studying the impact of climate change.
In addition, the poles act as sinks for carbon dioxide and pollutants due to the Earth's rotation and wind patterns. A study published in 2020 found that the South Pole has warmed by more than three times the global average rate since 1989, largely due to warm ocean temperatures in the western tropical Pacific Ocean and increased greenhouse gas emissions.
Chavanich has firsthand experience with the effects of climate change on Antarctica's marine life. During her dive in 2013, she observed more parasites on fish bodies than had been present just five years prior, indicating a rise in diseases due to higher temperatures.
She also witnessed starving fish that were eating anything they could find, including crabs and other small animals, due to a lack of their usual food source, krill, which typically stays under the ice.
Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Chavanich said that the long-term collaborative relationship between Thailand and China would see more Thai scientists joining expeditions with their Chinese counterparts once it is safe to do so.
She emphasized the importance of international cooperation in studying the poles, stating that "each station or country cannot work alone" in Antarctica and that a region is a place of collaboration and mutual assistance.
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