人与地球系统之间的相互作用已成为全球变化的重要驱动力，极地系统是感应全球变化的放大器和指示器极地系统科学进入了一个大科学研究时代。极地系统科学不但是一门研究极地系统对全球变化的响应与反馈作用中运转的机制、规律和控制这些变化的机理，并为区域复杂性及其对全球变化预测提供科学基础的科学，同时也是一门高新技术应用和人类认识自然活动并科学管理极地系统的系统工程学。20年来，中国科学家对极地系统复杂性有了深入的认识，对极地科学考察管理也进行了有益的探索。

The Arctic and Antarctic is a significant component in the earth system. There are increasing evidences showing that the interaction between human and the earth has become a driving force to the global change. The polar system has been playing an important role as a magnifier and an indicator to the global change. In the period of exchange between the old and the new century, researches on the Arctic and Antarctic system science represent a giant science era. The Arctic and Antarctic system science is not only studying operational mechanism, order, and controlling principle in the response and feedback of the Arctic and Antarctic system to the global change to provide scientific bases for regional complexity and the global change forecasting, but it is also a systematic engineering science to study high innovative technological utility and to improve human's understanding the nature as well as to effectively manage the polar system. In the past 20 years, through the effert by the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic National Research Expedition, Chinese scientists have obtained a further knowledge about the polar system complexity under the global change and the development and management of polar science expedition.