The ocean, as described by physical oceanographer ZHOU Hui of the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS), is a "chaotic yet fascinating dance floor." It's a dynamic stage where everything from tiny ripples to vast, thousand-kilometer currents interact in a perpetual performance.

To truly understand how this immense blue world influences our climate, ZHOU's mission is to unravel a fundamental puzzle: how energy cascades from massive, wind-driven currents down to the minuscule eddies where it ultimately dissipates.

"The most direct way to address this," said ZHOU, "is to venture into the field and conduct oceanographic expeditions."

ZHOU Hui was deploying Expendable Bathythermographs during the 2015 Western Pacific Ocean Research Cruise. (Image by IOCAS)

As the first female chief scientist for deep-sea expeditions at CAS, ZHOU has not only participated in this oceanic dance but has also, in many ways, choreographed it. For nearly two decades, she has dedicated her career to decoding the intricate links between the ocean and climate, navigating the towering waves and hidden undercurrents of the vast western Pacific.

ZHOU's deep-sea research journey began in the early morning of 2012. As the research vessel departed the harbor, she was met not only by the magnificent seascape but also by debilitating seasickness, severe enough to incapacitate most.

During the first week of every voyage, she struggled to eat or drink, often enduring extreme exhaustion from relentless vomiting. "Lying in my cabin, even breathing felt strenuous," she recalls. Yet, she views this challenging period not with dread, but with profound gratitude for the resilience it instilled.

In 2014, at the age of 36, ZHOU stepped into the role of chief scientist for a research cruise. This appointment marked her as the first female "helmsman" in CAS's deep-sea exploration program. "It's not that I'm particularly outstanding; I simply refuse to give up," she states with characteristic humility, downplaying the countless days and nights battling the elements that culminated in this historic achievement.

Among ZHOU's expedition experiences, the 2016 National Day open-sea mission stands out vividly. She led her team to the 5,000-meter-deep sea to retrieve three Pressure-Inverted Echo Sounders (PIES) containing critical data from the 2015–2016 El Niño event.

"This data will provide invaluable support for us to more accurately predict climate anomalies. No matter how hard it is, we must bring it back," she told her team, making a solemn commitment before their departure.

The challenge was unprecedented; no Chinese research institution had previously recovered PIES from such extreme depths. ZHOU and her team were venturing into truly uncharted waters.

After a sleepless night spent meticulously planning every detail, they initiated the release command in the pre-dawn darkness. What followed was an agonizing 90-minute wait, the deck so quiet that only the gentle lapping of waves against the hull could be heard.

"Everyone clenched their fists and stared into the pitch-black sea," ZHOU remembers. The wait stretched into dawn with no sign of the equipment, and her spirits plummeted.

After battling seasickness and sleepless nights, the prospect of losing such precious data was devastating. But defeat was not an option.

"I knew searching for lost equipment at sea was like looking for a needle in a haystack," she said with firm resolve, "but my stubbornness compelled me to try."

She convened an emergency meeting, proposing a daring plan: deploy a glider to map surface currents and wrap a radio receiver in tin foil to boost its signal. For the next three hours, her team worked tirelessly, ZHOU's bloodshot eyes fixed on the monitor.

Then, a faint signal appeared 13 kilometers away. A shout of excitement erupted—there it was, a small white sphere bobbing on the waves. By this point, ZHOU had been awake for 40 hours.

New challenges soon emerged. In 2017, ZHOU led her team in the first-ever use of a microstructure profiler for scientific research. This instrument, valued at over one million RMB, carried a high risk of loss, with few insurance companies willing to underwrite the venture.

"If we lose this instrument, the entire responsibility will fall on me," she said. That week, she slept only three or four hours each day, all while contending with seasickness and directing equipment deployment and data collection.

Fortune, however, favored the bold. The observations were a resounding success, revealing a new pathway for mixing in the equatorial interior ocean. This achievement garnered high praise from internationally renowned oceanographers.

For ZHOU, it was a moment of quiet, profound emotion. "All the hardships," she reflected to herself, "have been worth it."

Over the past nearly two decades, she has witnessed the rise of China's marine science. "In the past, we lacked the opportunity to test our own scientific hypotheses in the deep sea," she reflects. "Now, our research vessels traverse the globe, empowering us to validate our theories on the world stage."

As a woman in science, she acknowledges the personal sacrifices made—time with family, pushing past physical limits. Yet, her passion for the ocean and her commitment to her country continue to drive her forward.

Today, guided by the national maritime power strategy, her deep-sea exploration endeavors continue. "Dare to dream, persist through hardship, and you too will help China reclaim its glory as a great maritime power," she advises.

Through her extraordinary journey, ZHOU Hui embodies and illuminates the profound blue-sea aspirations that inspire the younger generation of Chinese people.