JINAN, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The State Oceanic
Administration of China has set up the country's first oceanic sample repository
in Qingdao, Shandong Province, to facilitate its research into the deep sea.
The repository, covering about 3,000 square meters,
was responsible for the collection, preservation, pretreatment, analysis,
management and distribution of samples obtained by China from the international
seabed area, said Wang Fei, State Oceanic Administration of China deputy head.
"The operation of the repository will play an
important role in China's research into the deep sea."
The repository stored samples of Cobalt-rich crusts,
polymetallic nodules, rocks and sediments from the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic
oceans that have been collected by China since 2001. People can study the
samples through a database by completing an online applications.
The repository laboratory conducts pretreatment,
analysis and test of the samples. The exhibition part of the repository is now
open to the public, displaying the country's achievements in deep-sea
exploration.
Qingdao, a harbor city in the eastern Shandong
Province, has an abundance of experts and oceanology institutes, making it an
ideal place to carry out research.
