* A Chinese expedition team on Tuesday reached the summit of Mount Qomolangma.

* The feat came almost 70 years after man's first successful expedition to the top of the world.

* The 2023 Mt. Qomolangma expedition is part of the second comprehensive scientific expedition on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, initiated in 2017.

MOUNT QOMOLANGMA BASE CAMP, Tibet, May 23 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese expedition team on Tuesday reached the summit of Mount Qomolangma, the world's highest peak, where they carried out scientific research.

The feat came almost 70 years after man's first successful expedition to the top of the world, when New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay from Nepal summited Mt. Qomolangma from the south ridge on May 29, 1953.

Members of a Chinese expedition team display the Chinese national flag at the summit of Mount Qomolangma on May 23, 2023. (Photo by Lhagba/Xinhua)

An important mission of this year's expedition is to maintain and upgrade the eight weather stations at altitudes between 5,200 meters and 8,830 meters to ensure the establishment of the gradient meteorological observation system in the Mt. Qomolangma region and realize long-term continuous observation work.

The 13 members of the expedition departed the Assault Camp at an altitude of 8,300 meters at 3 a.m. Tuesday and arrived at the weather station at an altitude of 8,830 meters -- the highest weather station in the world -- after several hours of arduous climbing.

After affixing steel ropes, replacing batteries and installing wind speed and direction sensors, they completed upgrades to the components of the weather station.

Members of a Chinese expedition team maintain and upgrade equipment at the 8,830-meter weather station on Mount Qomolangma, May 23, 2023. (Photo by Lhagba/Xinhua)

They then climbed to the 8,848.86-meter-high summit at around 12:30 p.m. and successfully collected ice and snow samples, which will be used for the observation and research of air pollutants, particularly new pollutants.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where Mt. Qomolangma is located, is known as the "roof of the world" and the "water tower of Asia." It is an important ecological security barrier in China.

As the most unique geological, geographical, resource and ecological region on Earth, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has been called the "natural laboratory" by the scientific community, and Mt. Qomolangma is one of the world's areas of greatest concern.

The 2023 Mt. Qomolangma expedition is part of the second comprehensive scientific expedition on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, initiated in 2017.

Since the end of April, a total of 170 scientists across five teams have been conducting research on the water, ecology and human activities around the Mt. Qomolangma region, aiming to reveal the mechanism of environmental change and optimize the ecological security barrier system on the plateau.

EXPLORING THE UNKNOWN

About 65 million years ago, the Tibetan Plateau rose from the collision of plates. To this day, the plateau continues to change dramatically and profoundly affect human life.

Kang Shichang, a researcher at the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has led a team to physically examine the glaciers.

This year, they used drones, 3D laser scanning and other advanced equipment to monitor pollutants and changes in glaciers and glacial lakes, and to monitor greenhouse gas fluxes in rivers and lakes from the base camp all the way to the East Rongbuk Glacier.

This aerial photo taken on May 23, 2023 shows the mountaineering base camp in the Qomolangma National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)

"We have just drilled an ice core from 6,500 meters, and the longest ice core drilled this year was 118.7 meters," said Kang, noting that the ice cores will provide a wealth of information on the history of climate change in the region.

Su Tao, a researcher at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden under CAS, has led a team of four to carry out a field investigation in the Mt. Qomolangma region over the past two weeks, trying to decipher the "unique code" of paleontology.

"Paleontological fossils have a unique advantage because the shape and distribution of organisms are closely related to the environment, as different natural environments have shaped different organisms," said Su, 41.

The atmospheric science team led by Wang Yilong from the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research under CAS carried out the continuous observation of greenhouse gases on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau using high-precision instruments and unmanned aerial vehicles.

They integrated the observation data into an atmospheric response model to accurately estimate the current situation of carbon sources and sinks on the plateau, and to help formulate the strategic goal of achieving a carbon peak and neutrality in China.

"This year's expedition has greater disciplinary coverage and more extensive representation of scientists, and features more advanced equipment. In particular, the new batteries, which have been developed in collaboration with the lunar exploration project, will provide reliable energy supplies for the operation of instruments and equipment in the extreme environment near the summit," said An Baosheng, the on-site commander of the expedition.