Shanghai, China - Recent
1. Various of scientists monitoring underwater experiment
2. Various of monitor showing underwater device conducting experiment
3. Device being lifted out of water
4. Various of scientist researching
5. Researching device
6. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Jian Zhimin, dean of School of Marine and Earth Sciences, Tongji University:
"The devices will be placed down on the seabed through optical cables, in other words, build a laboratory undersea to collect and send data back to us. China is an ocean power; it should have done more in oceanic studies in the past. An ocean power must be able to go to the high seas and go global."
7. Various of scientists conducting experiment
8. Experimental device
9. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zhou Huaiyang, professor with School of Marine and Earth Sciences, Tongji University (partially overlaid with shot 10):
"After its establishment, this system can also have some radiation effects in other sectors, such as mining, mapping or ocean rights protection and national defense in addition to scientific research. We hope different governmental departments can work together to work out stricter regulations and measures on the protection of these undersea facilities, so as to ensure the long-term operation of this system."
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10. Underwater device
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11. Underwater device being lifted out of water

China has recently approved a billion-yuan program to build the country’s first undersea observing networks for advancing oceanic studies and other areas such as national defense.

Listed as one of China’s major scientific infrastructural programs, the networks will be built in the East China Sea and South China Sea respectively to conduct around-the-clock, real-time, high-definition, multiple interface, and three-dimensional observations.

The networks will also serve as a platform to provide long-term observation data and support experiments in the research of the maritime environments of the two seas. Meanwhile, a monitoring and data center will also be set up in Shanghai to monitor the networks and process the data collected by the networks.

The program is expected to advance China’s research in cutting-edge areas of earth system science and global climate change, and also meet the needs in other areas such as national defense, and disaster warning.

Scientists say that building the networks bears great significance for China.

"The devices will be placed down on the seabed through optical cables, in other words, build a laboratory undersea to collect and send data back to us. China is an ocean power; it should have done more in oceanic studies in the past. An ocean power must be able to go to the high seas and go global," said Jian Zhimin, dean of the School of Marine and Earth Sciences, Tongji University.

"After its establishment, this system can also have some radiation effects in other sectors, such as mining, mapping or ocean rights protection and national defense in addition to scientific research. We hope different governmental departments can work together to work out stricter regulations and measures on the protection of these undersea facilities, so as to ensure the long-term operation of this system," said Zhou Huaiyang, a professor with the School of Marine and Earth Sciences, Tongji University

The networks cost approximately two billion yuan with a planned construction period of five years.