On July 17, reporters learned from the Qinghai Tibet Plateau Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences that its researchers used the independently designed ice core hot drilling system and Lake Core gravity drilling system to obtain samples of deep ice cores and lake cores in the Karakoram mountains for the first time. The new samples can be used to reconstruct the history of climate and environmental change in the pan third polar region.

It is understood that this scientific research task is led by researcher Xu Baiqing of Qinghai Tibet Plateau Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences. The scientific research area is located in the north section of China Pakistan Economic Corridor, where the Pamirs Plateau and Karakoram mountain system meet with high terrain and deep river valley, and also where the west wind meets the monsoon.

Studies have shown that since the mid-1990s, the climate in the region has changed significantly, the most prominent performance is the significant increase in precipitation. Under the background of accelerated retreat of the third pole glacier, the glacier in this area is relatively stable, even some glaciers advance. This abnormal phenomenon has always been the focus of international attention.

With the assistance of Pakistan space and upper atmosphere research committee, more than 10 members of the research team went to biafo, sheo SAR and Saiful malook lakes in Gilgit Baltistan region of Karakoram to carry out 108 day ice core Lake core drilling. The team drilled more than 110 meters of ice core at 5600 meters above sea level of biafo glacier, and collected several gradient snow pit section samples from 5250 meters to 5600 meters above sea level. They successfully completed the underwater topographic survey and short core drilling of two lakes, from which four core samples were obtained respectively, providing research samples for the high-resolution study of Millennium scale climate change in the region.

Xu Baiqing said that in the future, the investigation team will carry out data determination of oxygen isotopes, black carbon, grain size, elements and other data on the drilled ice core and lake core samples, establish a large cross-section and vertical gradient observation system of North-South cross-border observation, fill in the gaps of temperature, precipitation and snow observation in the westerly monsoon intersection area, with a view to reconstructing the climate and environmental change since the last ice age in the area and serving the economy of China and Pakistan The environmental assessment, disaster risk prevention, climate change response and green development of corridor construction provide important scientific basis.

Source: Science and Technology Daily