Sino-British International Summer School  Lanzhou, China, 2009

CAEP-ECRC Joint Advanced Summer School on Tracking Environmental Change in Dryland Regions Using Lake Sediments
26 July to 1 August, 2009

Aims and Expected Outcomes

(1) to train participants in new approaches to lake-sediment analysis, with specific reference to dryland regions of western China, as a means of reconstructing the frequency and amplitude of climate changes from lake sediments and comparisons with other archives ;
(2) to encourage and facilitate cooperative research initiatives between individual participants and their institutions.

The summer school is designed for junior faculty members, postdoctoral researchers and advanced doctoral students with interests in environmental change in dryland regions. We intend to introduce applicants to a wide range of new and developing techniques and to encourage future co-operation between Chinese and British scientists in research projects on environmental change in drylands.

Leading experts who will present at the summer school

Prof Rick Battarbee FRS, ECRC-UCL (diatoms, palaeolimnology)
Prof Fahu Chen, CAEP-LZU (Holocene Lake records in arid central Asia)
Dr Jonathan Holmes, ECRC-UCL (ostracods, stable isotopes, trace-element chemistry)
Dr Andrew Henderson, Glasgow (ex-ECRC-UCL) (ostracods, stable isotopes, biomarkers)
Prof Xiuming Liu CAEP-LZU and Macquarie (mineral magnetics of lake sediments)
Dr Anson Mackay (pollen, diatoms, numerical methods)
Dr Carl Sayer, ECRC-UCL  (shallow lake ecology, aquatic macrofossils)
Prof Suming Wang, NIGLAS-Nanjing (sedimentology and geomorphology of paleolakes)
Dr Yan Zhao, CAEP-LZU (pollen analysis in lake sediments from arid regions)
Dr Zicheng Yu CAEP-LZU (isotopes of organic matter in lake sediments)

Provisional programme

Sunday 26 July – Saturday 1 August 2009

Sunday: Arrival, registration, informal discussion

Monday:         morning:          Introduction and welcome
                                               W. China - the climatic and environmental background
                                               Instrumental and documentary archives of past climate
                                               Lake sediments and environmental history in drylands

                      afternoon:         Lake sediments and environmental history in drylands [practical session]

 Tuesday:        morning:         New advances in palaeoecology (to include pollen, diatoms, plant macrofossils, ostracods)

                      afternoon:         New advances in palaeoecology [continued]

Wednesday:   morning:         Geochemical records (stable isotopes and trace-element chemistry especially as applied to ostracod shells and other carbonates)

                      afternoon:         Geochemical records [practical session]

Thursday:       morning:          Numerical analysis

                      afternoon:         Numerical analysis [practical session]

 Friday:            morning:         Chronology (short-lived radioisotopes, incremental dating, radiocarbon dating, U-series dating)

                      afternoon:         Multiple-proxy and multiple-archive approaches (case-studies showing comparisons with ice cores, tree rings, speleothems, documentary and instrumental archives)

Identification and selection of participants

 As it is an intensive and practically-based summer school, the number of attendees should not exceed 20. Potential applicants are required to apply for a place on the summer school by writing a brief (maximum 1 page, in English) case for support, including the following information:
(a) your qualification and current position;
(b) your current research interests;
(c) reasons why your attendance at the summer school would benefit your research career.

Chinese applicants please apply to Prof Fahu Chen;
UK applicants please apply to Dr Jonathan Holmes,

Both proposers (Jonathan Holmes in ECRC, UCL and Prof Fahu Chen in CAEP, LZU) will evaluate each applicant's information and select 20 out of the applicants. Successful applicant should have some background in palaeolimnology or show clear evidence that they will use palaeolimnological techniques to reconstruct environmental changes in dryland region in the future.

Deadline for submitting application: to be fixed
Selection Process: March 2009
Successful applicants notification: before March 31, 2009

Welcome to the

Joint Advanced Summer School on Tracking Environmental Change in Dryland Regions!