With the support of the Ministry of Education, the Ocean Affairs Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan's first polar research workstation, which is a joint collaboration between the National Central University, the National Academy of Marine Research (NAMR) and Nicolaus Copernicus University of Poland, was inaugurated at 3:00 p.m. Taiwan time (9:00 a.m. in Svalbard) on the 25th of June in the Svalbard Archipelago, located in the Arctic Circle. The establishment of the "TaiArctic" research workstation epitomizes Taiwan’s active participation in Arctic affairs with environmental monitoring and scientific research as the starting point.
For the establishment of this polar research station, a team of five from Taiwan, including: Prof. Ni Chuen-Fa, Director of the Graduate Institute of Applied Geology, National Central University; Professor Hwa Chien of the Institute of Hydrological and Oceanic Sciences, National Central University; Assistant Professor Chang Wen-He of the Department of Earth Sciences, National Central University; and Director Yang Wen-Chang and Assistant Research Fellow Li Meng-Hsueh of the Marine Science and Information Research Center of the National Academy of Marine Research flew all the way from Taiwan to the North Pole on June 22 to participate in the sacred mission.
President Chiu Yung-Fang of the NAMR pointed out that recent studies have shown that under the global climate crisis, it is estimated that the Arctic sea ice layer may gradually disappear after 2035, including its implications on global trade with the opening of the Arctic shipping lanes. Taiwan is a key maritime nation, so we profoundly understand the importance of studying the changes in the Arctic environment. Last year, Taiwan's research team has been working with a team from the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Poland on research topics related to ice quakes, ice melting, ocean currents and changes in wave conditions in the Arctic Ocean
Today, however, the "TaiArctic" polar research workstation has written a new page for our tripartite research collaboration. In the future, the national flag will be raised at the entrance of the research station. Minister Without Portfolio Chang Jing-Sen, and Luo Meng-Fan, Director General of the Department of Natural Sciences and Sustainable Development, Ministry of Science and Technology were also present to witness the historic moment and gave their blessings. In the past, Taiwanese scholars had to rely on the facilities of other nations when conducting research in the Arctic, but now Taiwanese researchers will soon have a "home of their own". The TaiArctic research workstation not only provides Taiwanese researchers with important information on global climate change, but also lays the foundation for Taiwan's research in marine science through international cooperation, such as monitoring the Arctic marine environment, collecting basic hydrographic data, and leading domestic polar research to the international level.
Last year, NAMR’s research team and the National Central University conducted a Taiwan-Poland [CC1] cooperative observation research, utilizing geophysical instruments and self-developed marine data buoys to conduct Taiwan's first independent exploration of land-based glaciers, ice quakes, ice melting in the Fromm Strait and sea conditions[CC2] . The team’s success in obtaining valuable data has gained international attention, with Taiwan invited to co-organize the Polar Forum.
The scientific value of polar exploration and monitoring relies on the long-term accumulation of data. Considering the needs for storage, preparation, testing, maintenance and repair of polar instruments and components, as well as the living space required for personnel visits, the National Central University and the NAMR jointly rented experimental space in Longyearbyen as a prototype for the establishment of long-term research facilities, in the hope of creating more fruitful and compelling research results.