Technology to the rescue! Hi-tech Hainan environmental victories

The beauty of Hainan’s ecological environment cannot be separated from the work of those protecting it.

In recent years, quite a bit of new advanced equipment has emerged in the field of environmental monitoring. These offer a magic bullet for those working to monitor the ecology.

Researchers monitor the health of Hainan’s coral reef ecosystems. [Photo provided by interviewee]

Each type of equipment 

has different capabilities

“Ecological monitoring can provide first-hand raw data for managing the ecological environment.” Wu Chengcheng, an engineer at the Hainan Ecological Environment Monitoring Center, said ecological monitoring data is the basis for objectively evaluating environmental quality, showing the effectiveness of pollution control, and implementing environmental management and decision-making.

In the Hainan Ecological Environment Monitoring Center lab, there are different types of high-tech equipment for monitoring the ecological environment.

“This guy, which looks like a big infrared thermometer, is actually a portable handheld heavy metal analyzer.” Wu Chengcheng said, “It shows a variety of data on heavy metals, but not the temperature.” In general, soil pollution monitoring includes heavy metals and organic matter. The instrument can detect more than 30 elements at once.

Equipment for monitoring the health of a typical marine ecosystem such as a coral reef. [Photo provided by interviewee]

Is there any equipment for remote environmental monitoring?

On the fourth floor of the Center, a small room is set up as an “atmospheric super-station”, used to conduct a comprehensive “physical examination” of the air.

The probe-like instrument collects atmospheric environmental samples, extracts them, and sends them to corresponding online analyzers which display real-time monitoring data. The atmospheric super-station can provide data support for research into the sources and causes of air pollution in Hainan, as well as provide early warnings and predictions of air quality.

A team of researchers from the University of Hainan collect water samples. [Photo provided by interviewee]

Environmental DNA technology 

monitoring for signs of fish

High-level “eDNA technology” has been the recent focus for Professor Diao Xiaoping of the Hainan University’s national key laboratory researching the utilization of marine resources in the South China Sea.

Researchers only need to collect water and sediment samples and analyze it with the eDNA technology to know which species have appeared in nearby waters. There is no need to actually catch and identify the fish themselves! 

A researcher uses a portable flow velocity meter. 

[Photo provided by interviewee]

Fish diversity is a key indicator for the health monitoring of aquatic ecosystems.

Through the application of eDNA technology at the Dongzhai Port Nature Reserve, it’s possible to monitor the biodiversity of protected areas and identify what fish are thriving there without damaging the ecosystem.