22 Chinese and Russian scientists plan to launch a 22-day long comprehensive scientific expedition to the Baikal Lake in August 2005. As a first joint scientific expedition between two nations at such a scale, the expedition will embrace three parts:
1) Comprehensive scientific investigation of the lake?痵 ecological and physical environment, including past and recent climate variations. Scientists will study the climate over the lake area and its impacts on China, especially on north China area, and associated interactions. They will look into the ecosystems of taiga, grasslands, and wetlands, and colony structures of east Asian typical ecosystems. They will study fire genesis mechanism in northeast Asian forests, grasslands, and wetlands, using remote sensing data, survey data, and climate data, and explore economic and social impacts of fires on China and Russia.
2) Investigation of the lake?痵 aquatic creatures and environment. Obtaining ecological data through collecting specimens of aquatic creatures, suspensions, lake water, and soil for identification and measurement. Comparative study of paleoclimate environment changes and evolution processes between middle and east sections of Asia, using samples collected from the lake floor.
3) Comprehensive study of the lake area?痵 economy, and application of remote sensing and GIS techniques. This part will include a comparative study of Baikal?痵 industrial enterprises and veteran industrial bases in northeast China, and a comparative study of ecological environment related remote sensing activities and GIS applications in the Baikal area and northeast China. |
