National Observation and Research Station of Coastal Ecological Environments in Macao (N.S.M., Macau Field Station) was officially established on March 28, 2022 with the approval of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China. It is the first national observation and research station outside China. The establishment of the National Observation and Research Station is the national strategic demand for the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the forefront of environmental science development. It fills the gap in comprehensive scientific observation of the ecosystem in China's subtropical coastal zone, deepens scientific cognition of the evolution of the coastal ecological environment quality and deals with the regulation mechanism through long-term observation and systematic research, and provides strong scientific and technological support for regional ecological environment improvement and management decision-making.
At present, there are more than 120 researchers and graduate students working in the station. The observation research team is leading by 22 high-level experts and scholars, including chair professors, full professors, distinguished professors, associate professors and assistant professors. All the experts and scholars come from well-known teaching and research institutions in China and/or from overseas. They have intensive research experience and extensive international vision, forming a multi-disciplinary, well-structured and strong research team. Prof. Ma Yibing is the head of the field station, Academician Yang Zhifeng of the Chinese Academy of Engineering is the head of the Academic committee, and Academician Zhang Yuanhang of the Chinese Academy of Engineering is the deputy director of the Academic committee.
The general positioning and construction of Macao Field Station are stated as below:
As the downstream gathering area of air pollution and water pollution in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Macao has been significantly affected by regional pollution transmission under the influence of climate change. It has been playing a representative and indicative role in the ecological and environmental changes in the coastal zone of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is a major national development strategy. A world-class Bay Area needs to be supported by world-class ecological and environmental quality and strong environmental technology. Aiming at the scientific and technological frontier of ecological effects, collaborative control, regionally collaborative governance and ecological restoration of environmental pollution under the context of global climate change, Macao Field Station contributes to establish "one platform, one pipeline, three bases"; performs in the effective use of remote sensing technology, artificial intelligence monitoring technology, automatic in situ high resolution monitoring and other advanced technologies; carries out the "intelligent, informative, in situ automation, sky-earth-sea integration" monitoring. It is an important channel for internationally academic exchange and scientific and technological cooperation, especially amang the "Belt and Road" countries. To implement the application for demonstration of scientific research achievements, training of outstanding talents and science popularization bases are therefore set up in Macao. It calls for the implementation of the strictest ecological and environmental protection system, and the improvement of Macao's local environmental quality as a guide to improve the quality of the ecological environment.
The research fields focus on ecological environment and climate change, including the studies on coastal environmental process monitoring and simulation, mechanism of pollutant transmigration and transformation across environmental media; environmental effects, theory and technology of environmental composite pollution prevention and control; and mechanisms of coastal environmental process and ecological restoration technology under the influence of climate change.
Key Research Area
N.S.M. takes as its academic development direction the research on the causes of pollution and the interaction of climate change in the ecological environment of Macau's coastal zone (atmosphere, water, sediment/soil) and other fields. Key research areas include:
1. Macao Field Station Atmospheric Environment Scientific Observation—The Macao Field Station has five major functions: meteorological and atmospheric boundary layer parameter observation, aerosol physical and chemical properties observation, atmospheric oxidation and ozone chemistry observation, greenhouse gas monitoring, and observation technology research and application demonstration.
In the next five years, the Macao field station will comprehensively utilize multi-parameter, three-dimensional, and high-time resolution atmospheric environment observation equipment, coupled with technologies such as chemistry, optics, spectroscopy, and simulation to improve the collaborative observation capabilities of atmospheric physical elements and atmospheric chemical components, and carry out multiple Comprehensive three-dimensional scientific observation of key indicators, and the ability to carry out joint observations with domestic and foreign comprehensive atmospheric observation and research stations to clarify the migration, transformation and transmission characteristics and mechanisms of atmospheric pollutants in subtropical monsoon control areas and highly urbanized areas, and to identify the interface between sea and land. The sources and causes of air pollution, explore the two-way feedback process and mechanism of air pollution and climate change, and provide long-term scientific data and technical support for the coordinated response to regional air pollution and climate change.
2. Macao Field Station Scientific Observation of Nearshore Water Environment - The Macao Field Station has four major functions: observation of physical properties of water environment, observation of water environment pollution, observation of hydrodynamic and optical properties, and observation technology research and application demonstration.
In the next five years, the Macao field station will carry out multi-index omprehensive positioning observations and flow monitoring in Macao's coastal waters based on the particularity, comprehensiveness and complexity of the formation mechanisms of water bodies, sediments and coastal zone pollution in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Based on multi-index long-term observation work as an important basis, it supports the analysis of the water body-sediment "input-output" process and the study of the spatiotemporal process and degradation causes of aquatic ecosystems, and identifies important pollutants and ecological risks in coastal water bodies and sediments. Clarify the response and key influencing factors of coastal water ecosystems under the combined stress of pollutants, explore key technologies for water pollution control and treatment in blue bays, and support solutions for coastal ecological restoration and comprehensive environmental improvement.
3. Macao Field Station Soil and Sediment Monitoring—Cross-media environmental processes determine the occurrence forms and spatiotemporal distribution patterns of pollutants in soil/sediment and water environments. The environmental processes and ecological effects of multi-interface and multi-process coupling are also related to those in the atmosphere. The processes of pollutant transport, transformation, and dry and wet deposition are closely related. Therefore, on the basis of comprehensive scientific observations of a number of key and forward-looking indicators of the coastal atmospheric and water environment, the physical and chemical properties and evolution trends of coastal soil and sediments are analyzed. Monitoring to clarify cross-media environmental processes and ecological health effects of pollutants.
The Macau field station will set up soil and sediment sampling points and monitoring zones. A 1×1 km2 grid is used to distribute points in Macao's land area, and soil environment sampling points are determined in each grid according to the dominant land use types (parks, protected areas, mountains, traffic areas, coastal zones, etc.). The sediment sampling points are consistent with the water environment monitoring points. Land and water monitoring transects have been set up in the area where the Macau field station is located to carry out long-term observations.
4. Macau Field Station Biological Monitoring - Aiming at the threatening effects of regional air pollution, water pollution, soil/sediment pollution and climate change on the coastal ecological environment in the Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, a variety of ecological environment assessments and biological habitat surveys are carried out to couple pollutants morphological characteristics and environmental behavior, establish a coastal ecological environment risk assessment system, and establish an early warning mechanism for the occurrence of disasters such as red tides.
