Researchers aboard the nation’s largest research vessel, the Legend (勵進), are to return today from a scientific expedition to the South China Sea to collect data on vertical temperature changes in the sea basin, the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL) said yesterday.
The government has maintained a low profile when conducting missions in the area, given disputes arising from overlapping territorial claims from Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam and China among others.
After setting off from Tainan’s Anping Port (安平港) on March 9, the 2,629-tonne vessel is to return to port today, concluding its 25-day mission that was aimed at measuring geological and weather conditions, promoting scientific collaboration and joint sea development, the NARL said.
Photo: Chien Hui-ju, Taipei Times
The research team is made up of 19 crew members and 21 researchers from the NARL’s Taiwan Ocean Research Institute, the Naval Meteorological and Oceanographic Office, National Taiwan University and National Central University, it said.
The team measured the sea basin using the vessel’s multibeam echosounder and produced the first precise map of a 4,000m-high seamount in the center of the basin, it said, adding that the mount is 676km from southwestern Taiwan’s coast.
Researchers also found fragments of sedimentary strata near the seamount, allowing them to study if the collapse of a deep sea range might trigger a tsunami, it said.
They also measured the temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure and wind speed on the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) and Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島), it said.
They obtained “unprecedented” data on vertical temperature changes near the center of the South China Sea Basin, in a range up to 20km in the air and 1,800m below the sea level, it said, adding that the data are valuable for boosting weather forecasting in the region.
The NARL said the team did not encounter any pressure from other countries during the mission.
The research vessel was built by Singaporean-based Triyards Marine Services at a cost of about NT$880 million (US$28.6 million at the current exchange rate) and was inaugurated in May last year.
It underwent 10 months of testing and trial runs before embarking on its first research mission, which was postponed from September last year to last month.
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
CHINA’s BULLYING: The former British prime minister said that he believes ‘Taiwan can and will’ protect its freedom and democracy, as its people are lovers of liberty Former British prime minister Boris Johnson yesterday said Western nations should have the courage to stand with and deepen their economic partnerships with Taiwan in the face of China’s intensified pressure. He made the remarks at the ninth Ketagalan Forum: 2025 Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prospect Foundation in Taipei. Johnson, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time, said he had seen Taiwan’s coastline on a screen on his indoor bicycle, but wanted to learn more about the nation, including its artificial intelligence (AI) development, the key technology of the 21st century. Calling himself an
South Korea yesterday said that it was removing loudspeakers used to blare K-pop and news reports to North Korea, as the new administration in Seoul tries to ease tensions with its bellicose neighbor. The nations, still technically at war, had already halted propaganda broadcasts along the demilitarized zone, Seoul’s military said in June after the election of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. It said in June that Pyongyang stopped transmitting bizarre, unsettling noises along the border that had become a major nuisance for South Korean residents, a day after South Korea’s loudspeakers fell silent. “Starting today, the military has begun removing the loudspeakers,”