Scientific drilling team sets off for South China Sea

A scientific ocean drilling expedition led by Chinese scientists embarks for the South China Sea on Tuesday from Hong Kong, reported the Shanghai-based news portal eastday.com.

A total 31 scientists including 13 from the Chinese mainland will sail with the American scientific drill ship Joides Resolution during the 62-day international expedition.

The new expedition will drill at three sites, which could be as deep as 1,930 meters into the seabed, to carry out sample collection of sediment and rock cores including the first-time collection of oceanic basalts.

The samples would reveal the records of formation and tectonic evolution of the South China Sea, thus paving the way to map oil and natural gas fields, according to scientists. They would also conduct research on microorganisms in the deep ocean.

Li Xuefeng, a scientist from Tongji University in Shanghai, said the South China Sea is the key region that links the main units of the west Pacific Ocean and it offers scientists different kinds of geological features to study.

"Besides academic studies, the expedition also has a significant meaning for our nation's capacity of deep sea technology construction and resources exploration," Li said.