Recently, the International Big Science Program "Global Hadal Trench Exploration Program" (Global -HEP) led by the Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has been officially approved by the Executive Committee of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
The "Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development" is an international scientific initiative led by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO,aiming to provide scientific support for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through strengthening global marine scientific research collaboration.
China's hadal trench exploration has undergone a remarkable decade of development. In 2014, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) launched the "Hadal Trench Science and Technology Research Program". In 2016, CAS broke through the "forbidden zone" of 10,000-meter scientific research in the Mariana Trench, ushering in the "ten-thousand-meter era" of deep-sea research. In 2022, relying on the HOV Fendouzhe, the world's only full-ocean-depth manned submersible with strong operational capability, and the "Exploration" series of research vessels, the Global Hadal Trench Exploration and Diving program (Global TREnD) was launched. As of now, it has joined hands with 145 scientists from 10 countries, reaching 9 global hadal trenches, including the Mariana Trench, Kermadec Trench, and Puysegur Trench, through 214 dives.
It is reported that the "Global Hadal Trench Exploration Program" was jointly initiated by the Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with scientific research institutions from more than 10 countries, including New Zealand, Denmark, Germany, Chile, France, Indonesia, Brazil, Russia, India, the Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, and Portugal.
The program focuses on the multiscale processes of life and geology in Hadal Trench extreme environments, and carries out multi-disciplinary, multi-trench, and transnational deep-sea diving scientific research around the distribution patterns and evolution of trench life, plate subduction andgeological structure evolution, deep-sea and seabed material-energyexchange, trench carbon cycle and global change, as well as trench environmental changes under the influence of human activities. Aiming to advance into the "no-man's land" of the deepest oceans on Earth, it seeks to expand humanity's understanding of trench extreme environments, geology, and life, establish an trench science discipline system, and provide important scientific support for the exploration, protection, and governance of the deep sea. Its launch and implementation will further lead the international trench science to shift from isolated research to systematic research,jointly promoting the development of international trench disciplines.
It is understood that the "Global Hadal Trench Exploration Program" team will, under the relevant international cooperation framework, focus on advancing the construction of a global hadal trench research center, organize and implement annual joint manned trench deep-diving scientific expeditions, carry out systematic collaborative research, regularly release scientific expedition progress and research achievements, and establish relevant open sharing mechanisms.
