BEIJING, April 11 -- Chinese scientists are planning to drill deep into a glacier on the Antarctic's highest icecap next year to study climate and environment changes.

    As part of China's 26th Antarctic scientific expedition, scientists will build a workshop and install drilling machines.

    Li Yuansheng, head of Kunlun Antarctic station, said the study of the ice core would help scientists understand climate trends.

    Scientists from other nations have drilled about 180 holes in the Antarctic, the deepest extending 3,600 meters into ice more than a million years old.

    China's first research station on the Antarctic mainland, Kunlun, was established in January on Dome Argus, which rises more than 4,000 meters above sea level.

    The 25th expedition team returned to Shanghai Friday after 173 days on the ice, the longest stay in China's polar expedition history.

    Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Shanghai.

    (XHTV)