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INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION |
China-US Glacier Expedition Completes
A China-US joint Tibet glacier expedition that had lasted for more than 30 days called a complete success on September 11, 2004. Covering a journey as long as 3,000 km, the expedition has made comprehensive investigations in glaciers, lakes and atmosphere over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Scientists analyzed the changes that have undergone or are undergoing under the impacts of global change. The systematic and factual investigations of the glaciers in the Ximalaya and Gangdise mountain ranges have revealed different types of glaciers, and confirmed the fact that plateau glaciers in Asia, with the Qinghai-Tibet plateau glacier as a typical case, have seen an allround shrinkage at an unprecedented speed.
Scientists’ study tour through the Namunani Glaciers has discovered that the glaciers, with a thickness of more than 200m, makes the thickest mountain glaciers so far found in the country. The increasing ice melting activities in the area has threatened the glaciers, desirable for extracting ice cores that contain historical climate data. Scientists, during the expedition, studied glaciers’ matter balance, glacier meteorology and hydrology, plateau atmospheric chemistry and the Quaternary period. Scientists analyzed, using a 6-m long ice core, climate changes recorded by the Namunani Glaciers, including variations in atmospheric elements, circulations, and microbes. The study is of important value to revealing the changes of past climate in the region, variations of Indian monsoons, and verifying the impacts of industrial pollutions from the southern Asia continent on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The study is also valuable for studying global climate change and the impacts of human activities on climate.
Scientists also made extensive investigations of the lakes over the west part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, as well as a lengthy tour over the Namucuo in the north of the Plateau, and Mapangyongcuo, in the west. The investigations turn out that the Plateau’s lakes have generally experienced shrinkage in terms of the total water surface. However, a few exceptional lakes, with large glaciers sitting in their upper reaches, have seen some increase of water surface, possibly caused by the increased water supply by the glacier melting, which is more than the evaporation caused by climate change. To study the plateau’s energy and water cycles under global warming, scientists installed numerous observational instruments over the Plateau’s northern, middle and southern sections. The preliminary findings of observations show that both the plateau’s surface and air temperatures have gone up.
China-Japan Tibet Expedition Completes
Chinese and Japanese scientists have eventually put an end to their expedition tour through the northern section of Tibet, after more than 30 days’ arduous explorations. Scientists deployed, along the 1000-km long Qinghai-Tibet highway and Tanggulashan and Nianqing Tanggulashan mountain areas, 9 automatic weather stations, 1 boundary layer tower and radiation observation station, 9 deep soil temperature and moisture station, 2 multidisciplinary observation station including atmosphere and soil, 1 wind profiler, 2 atmospheric turbulence observation towers, and 1 laser radar. These facilities have collected extremely precious data on air, soil and ecology.
The data collected through the expedition has a great value for studying the atmospheric and ecological processes of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the plateau’s special boundary layer structures, and energy and water circulation process. The data will also help scientists better understand the role of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in global climate change, and in producing severe weathers in the country.
Innovative Microwave Telecom in Quanzhou
On August 25, 2004, the Quanzhou microwave telecom industrial base, a project jointly established by the Licheng District Government and Quanzhou Municipal S&T Bureau, Fujian Province, passed the expert panel’s evaluation check organized by the Torch Center, a part of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology. The new base, upon its completion, will facilitate the development of microwave telecommunication industry in the Licheng District, making it an electronic information industrial base of impressive technical strength and features. The development will make the Lichen District an important industrial area, rendering more contributions to the greater development of Quanzhou and the west bank of the Taiwan straits.
With the South China Park in the Quanzhou High Tech Industrial Zone as the physical location, the new base occupies an area of 3.2 km2. The base will have a multi-level and open operation. Up to date, the new base has raised a capital of more than RMB 50 million, and absorbed corporate investment over RMB 100 million. A microwave telecommunication pioneering fund is created to support the development of microwave telecommunication technologies and innovation centers, the 3rd generation microwave telecommunication modules and associated industrialization, microwave media materials, and GSM/CDMA industries. At the same time, the base will play a radiation role in industrial upgrading, and may possibly raise the economic growth by 2% to 3%. It is predicted that by year 2007, the base will create a total output reaching RMB 3 billion, and newly added profits and taxes worth RMB 700 million. In addition, a super industrial group, or a public listing company with an annual output over RMB 1 billion, will be created, aligned with 2-3 enterprises having an output over RMB 200 million, and 10 or more businesses over RMB 50 million. The new base also expects to incubate some 20 small and medium S&T businesses, and create 2-3 renowned domestic brand names.
China Works on AVS
An AVS R&D center was recently opened in Zhongguancun. AVS, a standardization system for advanced audio and video coding, has an important role to play in addressing standard issues concerning systems, audio and video, and in consistency testing. To render a simplified technical solution with a coding efficiency two or three times better than older coding systems, AVS constitutes an open standard platform for China’s innovative and open technologies, providing proven coding solutions for China’s audio and video industry that has become increasingly demanding.
According to a briefing, both the State Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Science and Technology have attached great importance to AVS research and development, expecting to work out China’s own standards. As a benchmark standard for digital AV industries, AVS is important in creating China’s AV industry, especially for digital TV, high resolution video, media flow, and multi-media based communications.
The newly established center, with an AVS working group as the physical entity and under the support of authorities concerned, will work together with major industries involving satellite broadcasting, digital TV and mobile video. The R&D center will also, gathering together industrial and institutional research findigns in AV, work on key digital AV algorithms and techniques, making itself an advanced digital AV research center of both domestic and international influence.
Chinese Scientists Forum in September
The 3-day 3rd Chinese Scientists Forum will be convened on September 28, 2004. Under the theme of scientific development concept and the full fledged construction of a well-to-do society, the forum will gather together the heads of research groups working for the “National Long and Medium Term S&T Development Plans”, and senior officials of involving governmental agencies. Keynote speeches to be delivered at the meeting will cover strategic findings derived from topic oriented study groups, presenting a full perspective for the future S&T development.
Participants will have an in-depth discussion of many interesting topics, including China’s overall S&T development strategies, S&T system reform and the construction of national innovation system, S&T issues in the manufacturing industry, S&T development strategies for agriculture, S&T strategies for energy, resources and marine developments, S&T strategies for transportation, S&T issues in modern service industries, S&T strategies for population and health, S&T strategies for public security, ecological construction, environmental protection and cyclic economic development strategies, urban development and associated S&T development strategies, strategic high technologies and high tech industrialization, basic research development strategies, S&T platforms and infrastructure construction, development of S&T personnel, investment in S&T and associated management models, S&T related legislative and policy issues, innovative culture and popular science, and regional S&T development strategies.
Coal Produces Oil
An industrial device capable to directly turn coal into oil, the first of its kind in the world developed by the Shenhua Group, was put into construction on August 25, 2004 in Erduos City, Inner Mongolia.
According to a briefing, the direct liquidification project is designed with an ultimate annual output for 5 million tons of oil products. The first part of two-phase project will flow out an annual oil output of 3.2 million tons. The three major productions lines in phase one project will be made up of 14 production units for coal liquidification, coal based hydrogen making, hydrogen adding, hydrogen adding based property changing, catalyst preparation among others. Occupying an area of 186 hectares for the main working site, and 177 hectares for external extension, the phase I project is budgeted with an investment of RMB 24.5 billion. When completed, the new facilities will derive, from 9.7 million tons of coal, 3.2 million tons of oil products, including 500, 000 tons of gasoline, 2.15 million tons of diesel, 310,000 tons of liquidified gas, and 240,000 tons of benzene or mixed xylene. To avoid and reduce unnecessary risks, the project is implemented on a phased basis, building a production line, before getting into others. Phase I project expects to see the completion of the first production line in July 2007, with the rest two production lines to be completed around 2010.
Asia’s Largest Diamond Membrane Base
A ground breaking ceremony was held on August 18, 2004 to herald a diamond membrane manufacturing base at the Shenzhen High Tech Park. As the largest diamond membrane R&D and manufacturing base in Asia, the Shenzhen Leidi S&T Corporation implements the project, a part of the new material industrialization initiatives under the National 863 Program. With an ambitious infrastructures construction, including a 20,000m2 R&D building for the 863 new materials R&D center, the space material R&D center, and a post-doctoral work station, the project will eventually roll off an annual output worth RMB 1 billion or more. Its products, including diamond membrane based high energy and density capacitors, PET bottles, and hydrophobic glass, will soon be seen in the market.
The Shenzhen Leidi S&T Corporation, possessing proprietary diamond membrane producing technologies, is the only high tech manufacturer in the world capable to produce, under normal temperature, diamond membranes of industrial applications. As an international leader in diamond membrane manufacturing, and with three “firsts” in the world, Leidi produces optic-class diamond membranes as big as 1m2 under normal temperature, with a purity reaching 99.9%.
China Strengthens Sandstorm Watch
China has so far established 3,000 weather observation stations serving different purposes, said Mr. QIN Dahe, Chinese Administrator of Meteorology, at an international seminar on sandstorms. Plus other observational means, including satellites, radars and airplanes, China’s weather stations at different levels have made sandstorm watch and prediction a routine part of their services.
The meeting discussed major issues concerning the genesis and development of sandstorms and associated regional climate impacts, sandstorm modeling at regional and global scale, strengthening ground and space based sandstorm weather observation, and improving sandstorm watch and predictions. More than 100 scholars and experts from different countries attended the seminar. In addition to academic exchanges, participants discussed numerous related issues, including establishing and implementing an international sandstorm program, defining key scientific issues involving sandstorm watch, prediction and associated climate impacts, coordinating sandstorm watch programs among different countries, and promoting scientific data and algorithm sharing.
China’s First Acid Rain Monitoring Network
An acid rain monitoring network, the first of its kind in the country, kicked off its trial operation in Chongqing on September 1, 2004. Made up of 35 acid rain monitoring spots in the city, the monitoring network collects, analyzes and handles daily acid rain data, and makes a daily acid rain forecast. The acid rain monitoring network, built on the existing 4 independent acid rain monitoring spots, has added 31 watching spots, securing a basic coverage of the city’s acid rains. With the help of the city’s dedicated telecommunication network for weather services, the acid rain monitoring network will be put into official operation on October 1, 2004, if the one-month trial operation goes smoothly. By that time, Chongqing citizens will be well informed of acid rain pollutions in the city as they have been of weathers.
Largest Solar Generation Unit in Asia
A solar power generation system with an installed capacity of 1 megawatt, designed and constructed by the Institute of Electric Engineering, a part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has recently passed its verification check in Shenzhen. The new solar generation unit, the largest of its kind in Asia, expects an annul power output of 980,000 KWH.
With a total investment of RMB 66 million, the new solar generation system works to convert solar energy to electric power with the help of numerous semiconductors. Comparing with firepower generators of the same size, the clean energy based power generation can reduce carbon dioxide emission by 170 tons, and sulfur dioxide by 7.68 tons on an annual basis, without causing any environmental pollutions.
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