Two scientific stations open to all in South China Sea
Keryea Soong & Po-hsiung Lin
Dongsha Atoll Research Station
Department of Oceanography, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Department of Atmospheric Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Dongsha Atoll, at 20o N, in northern SCS, is an area of about 500 km2 with diversified habitats, e.g., coral reefs, seagrass beds, sand, all in shallow water. A marine station has been established with the help of Marine National Park and coast guards since 2012. Jet ski and various boats from 12 ft to 42 ft long are available for scuba diving, or instrument deployment. Weekly flights and monthly supply ships make the atoll very accessible to scientists. There is no civilian on the island. The internal waves of the greatest magnitude in the world, the high marine biodiversity near The Coral Triangle, plus the relatively advanced stage of ocean acidification of SCS all make the site attractive to scientists. Dozens of papers have been published based on the marine station. Taiping Island, at 10o N, part of Spratly Islands, is a new addition as a scientific station. it is accessible to scientists by collaboration with coast guard ships. Room and board as well as scuba are provided for scientific investigation. All services mentioned above are accessible by international scientific community. These facilities are part of our effort to promote scientific collaborations in South China Sea among countries.