The research ship, "Dayang I" returned to Qingdao on Dec 11, finishing China's 22nd global marine expedition.

The voyage, which started from Guangzhou on Dec 8, 2010, has lasted for 369 days, covering 64,162 nautical miles in the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

Scientists on the ship gained insightful results after conducted comprehensive investigations on marine resources, such as seabed polymetallic sulfide and nodules.

Sixteen hydro-thermal fields were discovered on the seabed in the South Atlantic Ocean and East Pacific Ocean. The field at 26 degrees south latitude is the most southern one ever found in the mid-oceanic ridge of South Atlantic Ocean.

Since the first hydrothermal field was discovered in 2007 during the 19th expedition, 33 hydrothermal vents of this kind have been discovered in the oceans, accounting for 10 percent of all vents found during the past 30 years.

"We made historic breakthroughs in technologies, such as the corer, abyssal sea buoy monitoring system, ROV (unmanned diving instrument) and deep-towed acoustic measurement instruments. They were widely applied in our expedition, thus ensuring our achievements," said leading scientist, Wang Chunhui when speaking with China Daily.

Wang also mentioned that many blind shrimps were found around the hydro-thermal vents in the South Atlantic Ocean and that they caught a fish suspected to be a new rare species.

This is the first time to get detailed environmental parameters at 80 degrees east longitude in the Indian Ocean. It is also the first time to launch abyssal sea buoy monitoring system that can send back in-time data through satellites in southeast Indian Ocean.

"We used ROV to explore and take samples in the new inactive sulfide zone in South Atlantic Ocean," Wang said.

They took samples of seabed microbes, which are conducive to the study of biological diversity. The microbes live in a poisonous, high-temperature and high-pressure environment and studying their special genes can provide references for pollution treatment, experts say.

"We still have a long way to go to catch up with the most advanced countries in marine exploration. The central government has attached importance on our marine program and has also allocated a special fund," said Liu Cigui, director-general of the State Oceanic Administration of China.

"All countries have shifted their focus from the land to the ocean. Who takes the lead will win the competition in the international market. We should rejuvenate our country through contributing to China's marine exploration," said Huang Huikang, director-general of the department of treaty and law under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This is the longest voyage in China's history of marine exploration. As many as 218 scientists and experts of 32 organizations from home and abroad were involved in the expedition.

Xie Chuanjiao and Wu Binbin (chinadaily.com.cn)

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Rakhee