China-New Zealand deep sea expedition team discovers new marine life

A groundbreaking collaborative dive expedition between Chinese and New Zealand scientists has revealed new marine life forms in the Puysegur Trench -- one of the world’s deepest ocean trenches, located off the southern coast of New Zealand.

The joint expedition was conducted by the CAS Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering (IDSSE), in collaboration with New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA). The mission also marked the first international scientific dive in the Puysegur Trench, and the second collaborative deep-sea expedition between China and New Zealand.

Using China's state-of-the-art Fendouzhe submersible, the three-month expedition conducted a world record 32 dives. Almost 3,000 samples were collected from the 800-kilometer-long trench in New Zealand's Southern Ocean. The scientists were able to dive more than six kilometers to the sea floor, observe how animals survive in these extreme conditions, and conduct vital research on climate change.

"It's amazing feeling, seeing that with your own eyes, seeing the animals serenely swimming around on the bottom, and the little sea cucumbers munching away on the mud at the seafloor. So yeah, it's amazing experience," said Sadie Mills, a New Zealand scientist.

The expedition leader said it is "a dream come true" to be able to study how chemicals rise from the earth’s core to provide food and energy for marine life.

The research has also provided New Zealand with valuable knowledge about marine life -- knowledge that would not have been possible without Chinese technology.

"It was an amazing opportunity for us to get access to parts of the trench and get some understanding about how those deep environments operate that we could never do ourselves," said Rob Murdoch, deputy chief executive of NIWA.

The initial findings were revealed aboard the scientific research ship Tan Suo Yi Hao (Discovery One). China's ambassador said the scientific collaboration demonstrates the value of China's strategic partnership with New Zealand.

"Our bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various fields have brought tangible benefits to both peoples," said Wang Xiaolong, Chinese ambassador to New Zealand.

This expedition will undoubtedly advance human exploration of the deep ocean and deepen our understanding of the ocean’s potential impact on climate change.

"The oceans are an intimate part of the climate system. They're already changing, and they're already having an influence on our atmospheric climate," Rob Murdoch added.

The expedition involved 68 scientists from eight countries -- including New Zealand, Malaysia, Denmark, Germany, France, Brazil, India, and China -- who aim to raise global awareness about life on the seafloor and its connection to climate change.

"So we need these international collaborations and seagoing expeditions worldwide to understand the global distribution of carbon, and how it finally ended in the sea floor," noted Frank Wenzhofer, a German scientist.

China-New Zealand deep sea expedition team discovers new marine life

Thousands of evacuees are sheltering in temporary facilities in Bangkok, unable to return home after heavy rain battered the Thai capital over the weekend, leaving widespread flooding across the city.

In Lat Krabang, on the eastern edge of Bangkok, much of the area remains submerged, with floodwaters reaching neck height in some places. The sprawling district includes housing estates, canal-side communities, factories and major roads. It sits a short distance from the Suvarnabhumi Airport.

While some main roads are beginning to reopen, conditions change dramatically in the smaller communities. Among the hardest hit is a housing estate of around 30,000 residents, where people say they have been without electricity, running water, food and drinking water for nearly four days.

"There are no words for it. Everything is just terrible. Just imagine, there are no working toilets, the children can't shower, and there is no food or drinking water. Everything is just piling up. It is an unbearable situation," said Lhin Ong-orn, a resident.

Many residents have moved to a university campus that would normally be filled with students. Its classrooms and other facilities have been repurposed as a refuge for families with nowhere else to go. The campus has become a displacement center sheltering around 2,000 people, one of more than 200 temporary shelters set up across the capital since the flooding began.

Those brought in include elderly residents, people with limited mobility, and others with injuries or health problems. Many have been evacuated from neighborhoods that remain completely cut off, where basic services have been disrupted and essential supplies remain difficult to deliver.

"The water level kept fluctuating, and my father is ill, requiring an oxygen machine around the clock. After the power was cut off on the evening of September 26, the oxygen machine couldn't work. We decided we had to get out, so I contacted rescue foundations to help evacuate my family," said Kittiphong Singhsae, a resident.

Thailand's nationwide flooding since Sept 16 has left eight people dead, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said Monday.

Twenty-eight provinces, including Bangkok, are still affected, mainly in Thailand's central, northern, eastern and northeastern regions. Between Sept 16 and 28, flooding swept through 42 provinces, affecting 1.8 million people, according to the department.

Thousands left without food, power amid severe floods in Bangkok