China plans to build a geospace environment laboratory at its Zhongshan station in Antarctica, says a Chinese polar expert.

Conducting ground observations in Antarctica, which frequently sees geophysical phenomena such as auroras, is significant to space studies, said Hu Hongqiao, an expert with the Polar Research Institute of China.

The Zhongshan station, which passes through the auroral oval twice a day, is particularly well situated for observing the geospace environment because auroras can be seen there at various magnetospheric layers, Hu said.

China already has accumulated much data in Antarctica through a multi-instrument upper atmosphere observation system at Zhongshan station. The system was built by the Polar Research Institute, Japan's National Institute of Polar Research, and Newcastle University of Australia.

Scientists will start construction on the geospace environment laboratory during China's current 26th scientific arctic expedition. They will install seven sets of equipment, including high frequency radar and aurora monitors. The equipment will be put into use in April, Hu said.

The laboratory was expected to expand Zhongshan station's monitoring scope of geospace environment from the polar cusp and aurora oval to the polar cap.

(Xinhua News Agency December 3, 2009)