Backgroud for the Foundation of CAEP

The climate and environmental Changes in the Mid-Asia arid area are closely related to those in high latitudes and tropical areas. Important climatic or tectonic events have been sensitively recorded by various types of terrestrial sediments in this area. On the other hand, the formation and vicissitude of this arid area is directly linked the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. The coupling and conflicting of the summer and winter monsoons controlled the temporal and spatial patterns of the arid environment in western China. Therefore, the research of the environmental change in Mid-Asia arid area is of great importance. The response and contribution of the environment in this area to the global changes has become a foreland in geosciences, having drawn the attentions of many Chinese and international scientists.

The ecological balance in the arid area of western China, a part of the Mid-Asia, has been severely interrupted and the productivity of the fragile ecosystem is decreasing. In addition to the accelerated deterioration of the ecological environment and the degradation of land quality, the desert area is enlarging continuously, resulting in the unstable climate, water resource crisis and frequent dust storms, threatening the existence and development of humans. These problems require systematic researches in modern environmental processes and mechanisms in this area, for the purpose of regional sustainable development.

As the arid area in western China is fundamental in both scientific research and national development stratagem, Lanzhou University has been attaching much importance to the research in this area. The work has been supported by both German Science Foundation (DFG) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). In 2000, the application for a Sino-German joint research center for arid environment and paleoclimate, located in Lanzhou, was reported to the Sino-German Science Center, Beijing, which is affiliated to and jointly funded by both DFG and NSFC. The application was approved in 2001 and the center was named Sino-German Joint-Research Center for Arid Environment and Paleoclimate (CAEP). It began to operate since its foundation and has been supported by Sino-German Science Center, Beijing.

The Chinese staff in CAEP are mainly from scientists in the College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University and some domestic famous researchers, whose work is focused in the Mid-Asia arid area, in Chinese Academy of Sciences and other universities. International members include many outstanding scientists, from Germany, UK, USA and Australia etc., concentrating on the environmental and paleoclimatic researches in Mid-Asia arid area, especially those from Interdisciplinary Center for Ecosystem Dynamics in Central Asia (EDCA), Free University of Berlin.

CAEP Management

Honorary Director: Professor Jijun Li, Academician, CAS
Director: Professor Fahu Chen
Vice Director: Professor Hucai Zhang
Professor Pingzhong Zhang
Administration secretary: Mr Zongli Wang
Acadmic secretary: Dr Chengbang An

Research Groups

Environmental Change Group, including members in 1) Lake Records (pollen, ostracods, diatom etc.); 2) Loess Records (winter and summer monsoons); 3) Desert Quaternary and Desert Geomophology; 4) Processes and Mechanisms of Desertification; 5) Environmental Archeology

Tree-ring and Climate Change Group, concentrating on 1) Dendroclimatology, Dendroecology, Dendrohydrology; 2) Climate Change (mainly the past 2000 years); 3) Arid Climate and Climate Modelling

Geochemistry and Isotopic Chronology Group, researches including 1) isotopic records of δ13C and δ18O; 2) C-14 Chronology (conventional and AMS); 3) Geochemical Climatic Proxies in Arid Area; 4) Stalagmite Records; 5) Carbon Cycle and Its Geochemical Processes

Laboratories and Instruments

C-14 Lab: WALLAC 1220 Super Low Background Liquid Scintillation Counter
AMS 14C Target Preparation Lab: Target Preparation System and Elementar Vario EL
Tree-ring Lab: Velmex TBA ring width Reader
Isotope Lab: Delta Plus Spectrum, Flash EA1112/Trace TC ultra
Paleontology Lab: XSZ-4G/WV-CP450 /Panasonic TC-2148AT Microscope, Nikon YS100 Microscope, JSZ5 Microscope
Organic Geochemistry and Stalagmite Lab
Luminescence chronology Lab: TL/OSL MODEL RIS? TL/OSL-DA-15B/C System
Sample Treatment Lab: ModulyoD-230 Freeze Dryer

Full-time Staff:

Professor Jijun Li, academician, CAS, PhD supervisor, focused in Quaternary geology and arid Geography

Professor Dr Fahu Chen, PhD supervisor, Outstanding Youth Project (NSFC) gainer, researches in paleoclimate and environmental changes (lake sediments, loess and desert evolution), geomorphology and Quaternary Geology.

Professor Dr Hucai Zhang, PhD supervisor, major in desert Quaterary, lake evolution and paleoclimate modeling

Professor Pingzhong Zhang, geochemistry and stalagmite record

Professor Dr Donghuai Sun, PhD supervisor, Paleomagnetics, quaternary gelogy and loess record

Professor Dr Chengjun Zhang, Organic Carbon Isotopes and sedimentology

Professor Dr Jinzhu Ma, water resource in ari darea, groundwater and hydrochemistry record

Associate Professor Yan Zhao, pollen, plant remains and paeoecology

Associate Professor Jiawu Zhang, geochemistry of fresh water ostracod shells, Holocene environmental changes

Assoiate Prfessor Chengbang An, Historical Geography and Environmental Archeology

Associate Professor Yaowen Xie, Remote sensing and Desertification in historical periods

Associate Professor Xiaohua Gou, Dendroclimatology, Dendroecology and climate changes

Associate Professor Liya Jin, Arid climate and Climate Modelling

Associate Professor Liping Yang, environmental Remote sensing and Desrtification

International Cooperation Institutions

EDCA, Free University of Berlin, Germany
Leibniz-Laboratory for Radiometric Dating and Stable Isotope Research, Kiel University, Germany
University of Liverpool, UK
ECRC, University College of London, UK
Desert Research Institute, USA
University of Californian -Davis, USA
University of Californian -Los Angeles, USA
Lamont Doherty Geology Observation Station, USA
National University of Mongolia, Mongolia