Cover Story：R/V Hai Yang Liu Hao on the Antarctic waters. The 33rd China Antarctic Research Expedition R/V “Hai Yang Liu Hao” Cruise has been the first to obtain the full coverage and high precision multi-beam echo sounding water depth data of the seabed within a large area of the offshore of the Antarctic Peninsula; in addition, accurate topographic maps with higher terrain resolution than currently published data have been compiled. Some Bottom Simulating Reflectors (BSR) are identified in the multi-channel seismic profile. The geothermal heat flow value indicates that the heat flow values in the south of the archipelago are relatively high. Sediment samples are typical submarine glacial sediments. There are local high anomalies of the methane content of the headspace gases samples at the two stations in the deep water area of the island slope, which may be caused by the decomposition and migration of hydrates. The research achievement led by HE Gao-wen, Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey, CGS, ranks the ninth among “Top Ten Scientific and Technological Progresses of China Geological Survey and Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences in 2017”. For details see pp. 643-678 of this issue. (Photo by HE Gao-wen)
