About Us

“Blue Dream” Team of Scientific Expedition was established in September of 2014. As of June 2024, it had conducted:

98 comprehensive scientific surveys on the high seas and coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific and South China Sea (SCS), with a total of 493 people.

1644 days scientific expedition was lasted, with range of 58,049 nautical miles (about 107,506 km). A long-term systematic ecological survey of the ecological status and evolution of coral reefs in the SCS (across 16 latitudes) has been carried out, gaining:

7, 892 minutes of ecological survey videos

53, 401 samples and close-up photos

sample collection We have acquired over 10-year data of coral reef ecosystems in the SCS at large spatial and long time scales, and build upon the largest Coral Reef Sample Library of China, large in number, diverse in variety , and wide in coverage, which could provide strong support to advance our knowledge on coral reef ecosystems in China.

Comprehensive Scientific Expedition of coral reefs of Huangyan Dao in 2015

Comprehensive Scientific Expedition of Xisha Islands in 2023

Ecology and Environment investigation of the South China Sea

Coral transplantation, restoration, coral species identification and sample packaging

Our team members have participated in the NSFC Open Research Cruise in the Eastern Indian Ocean (2023 and 2024) and the Western Pacific (2023), coving the Bay of Bengal, the Eastern Indian Ocean, the Java Sea, the Luzon Strait, the Taiwan Strait, the Philippine Sea and the Western Pacific Ocean.

354 cruises and fixed-point scientific expeditions have been conducted.

Nearly 3,000 biological-environmental-geological samples have been collected.

These provide key data and samples to reveal the Formation Mechanisms and Ecological Effects of the World's Coral Reef Biodiversity Center (The Coral Triangle).

We also boarded the "Deep Sea Warrior" and "Struggler" active manned submersibles to the “Zhongnanhai” (meaning “middle and southern seas”) in the SCS to survey cold-water coral reefs, with a maximum diving depth of 4194.8m, obtaining:

More than 6,000 minutes of deep-sea ecological and geological images.

More than 400 samples of various types of samples, including cold-water corals, benthos, large wood falls, and sediments in the deep sea.

Above these observational data and sample accumulatively provide the latest research materials for the exploration to the “Darwinian subsidence theory” and the response patterns of cold-water corals to global changes.

2024 NSFC Open Research Cruise in the Western Pacific Ocean

2024 NSFC Open Research Cruise in the Eastern Indian Ocean

2021 “Zhongnanhai” Deep-diving Survey Voyage in the SCS (Manned submersible: Deep Sea Warrior; maximum diving depth: 4194.8m)

Basic Water Quality Parameters Measurement and CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) multi-water sampling collection

Deep sea sediment and column samples collection