(ECNS) -- The torch for China's 15th National Games was lit Thursday in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, using a "source fire" extracted from combustible ice—methane hydrate — at a depth of 1,522 meters in the South China Sea, marking a symbolic fusion of energy innovation and national pride.
On Sept. 16, a scientific research vessel departed Guangzhou's Nansha District, passing through the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge before reaching the Haima Cold Seep by Sept. 18 to collect the "source fire" for the Games.
In 2015, China's independently developed remote robot Haima, which can operate at a depth of 4,500 meters, discovered an unprecedented active cold seep on the seabed in the northern waters of the South China Sea, which was named the Haima Cold Seep.
After descending into the deep sea, the Haima submersible used robotic arms to collect combustible ice and escaping gases from a cold seep vent. When sufficient combustible ice underwent depressurization and decomposition within the collection chamber, the resulting methane gas became the source of the torch flame.
Ignition subsequently triggered the photovoltaic power generation system on the research vessel's deck to convert solar energy into electricity, which was then transmitted to the seabed. This seamless sky-to-sea coordination successfully ignited the"source fire."
The entire deep-sea extraction and torch ignition process was completed in just 3 hours and 4 minutes, underscoring the precision and efficiency of the mission.
(By Zhang Dongfang)
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