Scientific Expedition of Lop Nur Made New Progress

On November 13, 2010, the Lop Nur Scientific Expedition Team returned to Urumqi after the field investigation in the Lop Nur region for one month. This activity was named as Re-walking the Expedition Road of Professor Peng Jiamu. The scientists of the team carried out the investigation on the geological-geography, climate change, environmental archeology, biological diversity and other fields in Lop Nur region. Professor Xia Xuncheng, from Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, CAS, is the director of this expedition team.

  The expedition activity, started from October 16 to November 13 and traveled 6,500 kilometers, is the largest scale expedition in Lop Nur region. The team was jointly organized by Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, CAS, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, CAS, Institute of Remote Sensing Applications, CAS, Nanjing University, Hebei Normal University and other institutes. Total 75 persons took part in this investigating activity.

  On November 15, a report meeting of Lop Nur scientific expedition was held in Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, CAS. A number of new progresses about this scientific investigation were reported, which includes new understanding to the “Big Ear” image of Lop Nur, new progress in environmental variance research, the causes of formation for Yadan landform and the drifting route of sand-dust storm, the weather data of Lop Nur region, the biological diversities, discovered relic of cultivated land with a large area in the east of ancient Loulan City, new discovered ancient city in Xiaohe Tomb.