BEIJING, Aug. 28 -- In collaboration with their colleagues from the ROK
and Mongolia, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) scientists achieved their first
success in obtaining a 40.18m. specimen of ice core in the drilling operation
from 5 to 25 June in an expedition to the (Hovd) Tsambagarav glacier in Altay
Mountains of Mongolia.
The glacier is a Quaternary glacial relic, with a
total area of more than 15km2 and a thickness of 90-100m. It is the headstream
of the Hovd River, the largest river in the Central Asian endorheic basin.
According to experts, the glacier and its vicinity are an ideal theatre for
probing the interaction of the Arctic water vapor with westerly wind.
The joint expedition was first contrived in 2007 and
related agreement was discussed and signed in Lanzhou, capital of northwest
China's Gansu Province in April 2008.
The ice core-drilling project was first proposed by
Prof. QIN Dahe, director of the State Key Laboratory for Cryosphere Science
under the CAS Cold & Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research
Institute. Its enforcement was under the leadership of its Prof. HOU Shugui from
the Lab. This is the first successful attempt for Chinese scientists to obtain
ice core samples from a foreign site except the polar areas.
(Source: CAS.com)
