Geoscience

Measure in Need: Tarim Water Conveyance Project

Dr. Ye Zhaoxia and her research team of the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, CAS, examined the dynamic response of groundwater level in traverse and lengthways directions. They have simulated groundwater levels before and after water-conveyance every time and calculated the incidence of groundwater on the both sides of the river. Since Apr. 2000, the Tarim Watershed Management Bureau has carried out ecological water conveyance to the lower Tarim River for 9 times successively, 6 of which to the Taitema Lake, the sink area of Tarim River. This measure ended the dry-up history of the watercourse in the lower reach of the Tarim River for 30 years. The groundwater level has risen where the water was conveyed; the natural vegetation has been recovered; red deer, Mongolian gazelles, Lepus yardandensis tarimensis and other wild animals have begun to appear in the forest.The results were recently published on the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (2009,149: 9-17).

Solid Basis for Wetland Protection

The first remote sensing image of wetland distribution in China was completed recently. The latest survey showed that the total wetland area of China in 2000 was reduced to 308,000 km2, and 50,800 km2 less than what it was in 1990.

Strategy for 21st Century Earth Science