This article from the micro-channel public number: We are the story of people (wmsygsdr), Author: Li Hang, title figure from: Vision China < / p>

Although Antarctica is a place with extremely harsh natural environment, in the process of getting along with our neighbors-Progress Station and Balati Station, I found that although nationalities and beliefs are different, people exchange and communicate with each other on the basis of mutual respect. In addition to helping each other at work, they have gradually established a deep friendship.

With the departure of the Duxia team, the former busyness and excitement ceased, and the huge Zhongshan Station area suddenly became deserted. There was no longer a long line when we ate, and the extra tables and chairs in the restaurant were pushed to the wall, leaving a bare ground. Everyone can talk freely during the meal. On the one hand, they summarize their work, on the other hand, they plan for the recent tasks, and at the same time listen to your opinions, or help the applicants to coordinate the use of vehicles, construction machinery, etc. With the mobilization of Lao Cui, everyone quickly entered the wintering state.

After tea, a word has been mentioned more and more frequently by everyone, this is the “wintering syndrome”. As early as on the “Snow Dragon”, we have heard the old team members mention it, and we were even advised “Don’t mess with the winter team members.” The expeditionary team members who overwinter in Antarctica are prone to different levels of pathological symptoms, both physically and psychologically, because they work and live for a long time in an isolated and extreme environment. Especially in late May to mid-July each year, the Antarctic is very night. In addition to loneliness and loneliness, the team members will also endure the test of darkness for a long time, prone to symptoms such as lethargy, depression, anxiety, nerves, Disorders of endocrine and immune functions can also occur, which has also been medically proven. It is said that even after returning to China, the symptoms were difficult to eliminate, even for life. The more I heard them, the more numb I felt. I thought that it would be all right to pay more attention to safety and health, but I had no experience or confidence in dealing with psychological problems.

A strong descent wind blows from the ice sheet, blowing huge icebergs and fragmented ice into Panda Pier and Nella Fjord, and the sea surface begins to condense again. Penguins no longer frequently appear around the station area, and even Skua gradually disappeared. Everything around us is implying that we are coming. We were like soldiers waiting for the battle, and began to “dig deep and dig up grain” to prepare for the extreme night in advance. Various instruments are being debugged in the office area on the second floor of the comprehensive building.In the garage, the mechanic was busy maintaining dozens of vehicles, large and small, in the station area. Under the leadership of the administrator, everyone organized the food and supplies throughout the winter in the warehouse.

My teammates and me went to the observation post in the field to store emergency items

Pole night is not just as simple as not seeing the sun. It is accompanied by low temperatures and high winds. Extreme severe weather conditions completely cut off the possibility of external support. It can be said that the Antarctic continent was almost completely Isolation on the earth, any impact caused by negligent work will be magnified by this time.

For example, once the outdoor water supply pipe of Zhongshan Station froze due to the failure of the auxiliary heating system, which caused the supply and drainage of the entire station area to be interrupted. The team members could only drill into the bottom of the icy pipe with electric lights, and in the wind and snow and darkness relayed the ice in the pipe and took it out. This is a race against time. If the de-icing speed in the pipeline cannot keep up with the icing speed, the situation will further deteriorate. Similarly, if there is a fault in any link such as communication, power generation or food preservation, it will be a severe survival test for the wintering team members.

Everyone put some water and food in the independent buildings around the station area, such as the meteorological building, high-altitude atmospheric physics laboratory, ozone and geomagnetic observation building, in case of a snowstorm while working , You can choose to dodge nearby. I brought a box of mineral water and a few boxes of biscuits from the storeroom and put them in a satellite observation tower in Swan Ridge for emergency needs.

Compared to Mochou Lake next to the station area, I heard that the progressive lake water a few kilometers away is sweeter and sweeter. Several teammates and I drove the PB 300 to fetch water and cut through the frozen lake with ice drill Pumping the lake water back into the water bag with a water pump is also considered to improve food for everyone in the coming polar night. In this way, the entire station area was waiting for the arrival of the extreme night in a busy preparation.

One morning, during a routine patrol, I found an open water area near the revitalization pier. It turned out that the westernThe wind blows away the sea ice accumulated in the bay. This is the perfect time to put a tide gauge! I hurried back to the station to report to the old Cui, ready to put the tide gauge according to the scheme discussed earlier. The tide gauge is an instrument used to observe tidal fluctuations. The instrument that has been running for several years was damaged during a tide last year. This time I brought a new one to replace it. I originally wanted to put it in during the summer, but It has been delayed for various reasons. I have been praying silently in my heart, hoping to find a suitable launching opportunity before the sea surface re-freezes, and now it can not be more suitable.

At the Antarctic site, a lot of work needs appropriate weather and time windows. It can be said to a certain extent that it is “seeing to eat”, so this in turn requires us to seize every opportunity and complete it efficiently. Various tasks. The mechanic quickly drove the crane to the pier, the boom extended towards the sea, and a metal frame hung from the hook at the end. I stood in the frame wearing a life jacket, measured the depth of the seawater and determined the appropriateness. After the drop-off location, the tide gauge fixed on the frame was slowly placed on the sea floor with a band. The placement operation was completed in just one hour. As the bright yellow cover of the tide gauge gradually sank in the sea water and disappeared, a stone pressed in my heart finally fell.

I am running a tide gauge

The faint aurora I encountered before the Spring Festival buried a seed in my heart. It broke through the ground and sprouted quickly. The lush branches and leaves rubbed in the atrium, which made my heart feel itchy. The sun goes down every day, and as the night gradually stretches, I clearly realize that the aurora is about to show off in the night sky. Just after dinner these days, I went back to the room early to get ready. Needless to say the camera and the tripod. I took a cup of hot coffee in the thermos cup, stuffed the chocolate and candy into my backpack, and brought a flashlight and walkie-talkie. I carried the heavy “penguin suit” to the changing room and got busy. The moment when I was ready to open the door, the cold wind burrowed into my body from the mask and neckline, giving me a disposition. Because the station area is affected by the light, I must walk to the open field and let the naked eye adjust to the dark environment.Began searching for traces of Aurora in the night sky.

Different from the scene when I first saw the aurora, the aurora at this time is no longer the shameful posture of holding the pipa half-covered, but has begun to show itself in the night sky in various shapes and colors. Fang Di danced in the night sky. Green, red, and purple auroras shine in front of them, and slowly change shape in the night sky with the passage of time, like a huge watercolor scroll slowly unfolding in front of them.

During the aurora dance, the big tree hidden in my heart has been bred into a vast forest, with deep roots and lush foliage, soaring into the sky. With tears in my eyes, I was lying on the snow dumbly, holding the walkie-talkie to my mouth, trying to find the right word in my mind, to describe this situation to everyone, but after thinking about it for a while, I was only big Shout “Aurora Burst! Aurora Burst! Come and see Aurora!”

The next few days, around the Zhongshan Station at night, flashes of flashlights flickered, and the whistling wind was mixed with bursts of amazement from the intercom. In the face of the magical and spectacular aurora, everyone was so excited that they watched and photographed in groups of three or five in the snow, on the hillside, or on the roof of the observation building. They stayed in the cold wind for several hours. The aurora was dancing in the night sky, but we were happy to freeze on the ground, and returned to the station area to take off our masks. Everyone’s face was freezing red, but we were still immersed in the enthusiasm. Until a week of overcast snow arrives and the entire night sky is covered by dense clouds, everyone will temporarily stop. After experiencing the strong sensory impact of Aurora, I even began to look forward to the arrival of Aurora Night, because by then the night will be doubled, and the opportunities left for Aurora performance will greatly increase.

It is learned from the news that on April 4, a rare total eclipse landscape will be staged in many regions around the world, and the Rasman Hills is in the visible range of this total eclipse, which makes me abnormal Excited. Shen Hui is the weatherman on the station. We call him Xiaohuihui. The weather forecast on the restaurant bulletin board is updated by him daily. I started running to his office frequently and asked him about the weather conditions on the day. He unhurriedly updated the cloud map and analyzed it, saying that the probability of sunny days was very high, but he could not guarantee it. I was about to ridicule him, but he was blasted out of the office without saying anything.

I arrived at the filming site early that day. The weather is indeed the same as that predicted by Xiaohuihui. The weather is generally clear. Only some low floating clouds hang on the north skyline. It will not affect the shooting of the eclipse. . While waiting for night to come, I pulled the camera lens to the telephoto end and pressed the shutter against the iceberg in the sunset in the distance, but I accidentally found a strange phenomenon-at the end of my sight, several icebergs are not floating. On the sea, but floating in the air! Because of the camera screen