by artfty | Aug 4, 2022 | Paleontological Science
Last September, China successfully completed its 12th Arctic scientific expedition. On April 26 this year, the “Snow Dragon” returned with honors, which also marked the perfect conclusion of China’s 38th Antarctic scientific research activity.
Is the Antarctic colder or the Arctic colder? Are icebergs as salty as sea water? Are there volcanoes in the cold polar regions? What are the magical animals and plants in the frigid polar regions? Dinosaurs have been found in the polar regions? Why do humans conduct polar surveys? What kind of experience is it in polar scientific research?
Voice of China and CCTV video, together with the youth science and technology center of the China Association for science and technology, jointly launched the all media science popularization column – the master class “scientists talk about science”. 20 academicians and celebrities talked about hot issues and answered questions for the public on science popularization. In this issue, let’s welcome Liu Jiaqi, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Liu Ying, director of the editorial department of natural history, to take us into the polar region.
Is the Antarctic colder or the Arctic colder?
The Arctic is surrounded by land and the Arctic Ocean in the middle. Liu Jiaqi said that although the surface of the Arctic Ocean is all ice, the thickness of the ice is not large, with an average thickness of about three meters, and the total ice volume is less than one tenth of the Antarctic ice volume.
Unlike the north pole, the south pole is surrounded by the sea – Antarctica, which covers an area of more than 14 million square kilometers. Because it is covered with ice and snow with an average thickness of more than 2300 meters, the average height of Antarctica is higher than that of other continents.
Liu Jiaqi pointed out that Antarctica is the last discovered continent on earth and the only one without human settlement at present. The climate in Antarctica is drier. The annual precipitation is about 50 mm a year, and the precipitation at the south pole is almost zero.
In addition, the Antarctic is colder than the Arctic. The lowest natural temperature measured in Antarctica is minus 89.2 º C, which is the lowest temperature measured in nature at present.
Liu Jiaqi said that what is more terrible than the severe cold is the strong wind. “When I was exploring the south pole, I didn’t think it was terrible to be cold, but the wind was terrible. According to the records of some investigation stations, there were winds of force 8 or more in the south pole for about 300 days a year. When the wind was strongest, the wind speed could reach 80 meters to 100 meters per second, which was about three times faster than the speed of a typhoon of force 12. If it was caught by the wind, it would be fatal.”
Are there volcanoes in the cold polar regions?
Liu Jiaqi said that there are volcanoes in both the north and south poles. “Although the polar region is covered with ice and snow, it is also in full swing. There are two modern volcanoes in Antarctica, one is deception island volcano in the South Shetland Islands, and the other is Erebus volcano in the Ross Sea.”
Both mount Erebus and mount deception are active volcanoes. Among them, Mount Erebus is the largest volcano in Antarctica, with a height of more than 3000 meters. There were volcanic eruptions in 1900 and 1902.
There are also volcanoes in the Arctic circle. Taking Iceland as an example, Liu Jiaqi said, “Iceland is called Iceland because of its cold, but in fact it is also a fire island. 85% of Iceland is volcanic. Therefore, the polar regions are not only cold but also hot.”
Polar volcanic eruptions will have a certain impact on the natural environment, but will not cause earth shaking changes. Liu Jiaqi said, “there are too many volcanoes in the whole earth, thousands. If you count the volcanoes under the sea, it will be tens of thousands. Therefore, it cannot be said that volcanic eruptions in the Antarctic and Arctic will lead to the destruction of the earth. Volcanic eruptions are indeed enough to cause a certain degree of disaster in local areas, but it is not enough to say that the earth will complete a life destruction.”
Are icebergs as salty as sea water?
Liu Jiaqi said that icebergs are not as salty as sea water. The melting water of polar icebergs is fresh water. “Nearly 97% of the water in the whole earth is salt water and 3% is fresh water. Of these 3%, about 70% is frozen in the Antarctic and Arctic. The ice and snow in the polar regions are fresh water.”
What are the magical animals and plants in the frigid polar regions?
Although the polar climate conditions are harsh, there are still animals and plants living, but there are also differences between the north and south poles. For example, in the Arctic, in addition to the polar bear we are familiar with, there is a bird called tern.
Liu Jiaqi said that this kind of white birds, which are slightly larger than swallows, are very powerful. They usually spend summer in the polar regions. If the Arctic is summer, it lives in the Arctic. If the Antarctic is summer, it lives in the Antarctic. Terns migrate back and forth between the north and south poles every year. “In 2004, someone picked up a dead tern. It was wearing a ring. This ring was worn in 1970. After 34 years, it means that this tern has run 34 times back and forth in the north and south poles, and has roughly flown more than 1.5 million kilometers.”
Liu Jiaqi said that many plants can be seen in the Arctic. “From higher plants to lower plants, they are generally herbaceous plants, without woody plants. The more famous are higher plants such as fairy wood, and Arctic cotton, which is called ‘Edelweiss’.”
Although the Antarctic is covered with ice and snow all year round, it is also full of vitality. Liu Jiaqi said that most creatures in Antarctica live in the sea. “Among them, penguins are the most familiar. There are also many kinds of penguins, among which emperor penguins belong to the aristocracy among penguins.”
There are almost no higher plants on the land of Antarctica, only some lichens and mosses, so Antarctica is also known as the “world without flowers”. Liu Jiaqi pointed out, “lichens are the most common plants that can be seen on the coast of Antarctica. Generally speaking, it takes 100 years for a lichen to grow one centimeter. If it can grow to about 10 centimeters, it will have a growth period of about 1000 years.”
Dinosaurs were found in the polar regions?
The Antarctic continent is rich in animal and plant fossils, including dinosaurs. Antarctica was once a part of the primitive continent Gondwana, which began to split about 180 million years ago, first forming South America and Africa, and split off Antarctica about 130 to 140 million years ago. About 70 to 80 million years ago, at the end of the Mesozoic and early Cenozoic, Antarctica drifted to its current position.
So, did dinosaurs really exist in Antarctica? Liu Jiaqi said that the discovery of dinosaur fossils in polar strata did not mean that dinosaurs had lived in the Antarctic and Arctic. Liu Jiaqi pointed out that dinosaurs could not survive in the polar environment. The strata where dinosaur fossils were located drifted from places outside the polar region through plate movement. Therefore, dinosaurs cannot be considered to have survived there just because there are dinosaur fossils in the Antarctic and Arctic strata.
Why do humans go to the polar regions?
In the past 100 years, the global temperature has been rising, and the climate change is very intense. Liu Jiaqi said that in order to find out the causes of climate change, it is necessary to obtain relevant information from the polar regions, because there is almost no interference from human activities in the polar regions, and the real background values and natural conditions can be obtained.
Taking the ice amount in the Arctic as an example, Liu Jiaqi pointed out that the temperature increase in the Arctic is much more intense than that in mid latitudes, and the change of its ice amount is closely related to climate change. “Based on the amount of ice, the amount of ice in the Arctic will be reduced by about half in almost 100 years. A large amount of ice will melt into fresh water and enter the ocean. After the sea water is diluted, its proportion will also change, thereby affecting ocean currents. Changes in ocean currents will lead to climate change.”
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On the other hand, Antarctica and the Arctic are rich in mineral resources. At present, more than 200 kinds of minerals have been found in Antarctica, such as coal, oil, natural gas and even gemstones. In addition to mineral resources, Antarctica is also rich in biological resources. Liu Jiaqi said, “there are hundreds of millions of tons of krill in Antarctica. Without breaking the ecological balance, humans can catch 100million to 150million tons every year.”
What achievements have China made in the polar expedition?
Liu Jiaqi said that China has made many achievements after more than 30 years of efforts since 1985. The first achievement is the establishment of an inspection station. “At present, there are five stations in our country among the 76 investigation stations in Antarctica. These five stations account for almost all the East, West, North and south of Antarctica. Zhongshan station is in the East, Great Wall Station is in the west, Kunlun station is in the middle, and a fifth station is built in Ross Bay in the south. It is a great thing that China can build five stations in a relatively short time, ranking fourth in the countries with Antarctic investigation stations.”
In polar scientific research, Chinese researchers have obtained a large amount of valuable information. The remote sensing geological map of Antarctica drawn by China has achieved “viewing Antarctica through ice”, helping scientific researchers further explore the unknown polar world.
by artfty | Jul 19, 2022 | Paleontological Science
From Jurassic Park, which was released in 1993, to Jurassic world 3, which was recently released, the “ dinosaur boom” has swept the world since the United States and has always been popular.
In fact, with the deepening of archaeological excavation, China’s dinosaur species have jumped to the first place in the world, and it is truly a “ dinosaur country”. So, how much do you know about dinosaurs in China? How was the first dinosaur found in China? How did China’s Dinosaur research “go” to the world from the countryside?
Keel lighting: Chinese dinosaurs appear in their hometown
In 1938, China’s first complete dinosaur skeleton fossil was found in the flames of war.
During the Anti Japanese War, in order to break the blockade of the Japanese army, the construction of the Yunnan Myanmar highway began to be stepped up. This highway was to pass through the Lufeng basin, and the legend of “keel” has been circulating in this area.
Build Yunnan Myanmar highway
Lufeng basin is located about 94 kilometers northwest of Kunming, Yunnan Province. It is a small inland basin. When working by the valley stream, local people often find strange stones with strange shapes, so they regard them as the bones of the legendary “ dragon” and respect them. Later, someone picked up the “keel” stone and lit an oil lamp with the concave surface of the vertebrae.
After the Lugouqiao Incident, the Japanese army occupied Peiping, and Chinese geological and paleontological researchers were forced to move south to Chongqing and Kunming. In July, 1938, Yang Zhongjian, who was then the director of the Kunming Office of the central geological survey, organized the investigation and research of Yunnan Geology and paleontological fossils.
In the winter of this year, Bian meinian and Wang Cunyi, who were also with the Central Geological Institute, returned from the Majie (now Yuanmou) basin survey and stopped in Lufeng. Bian meinian found that the oil lamp in the local farmer’s house was very interesting, like the vertebrae fossils of paleontology, so he asked the local guide. Led by the guide, he came to the place where the local people found the “keel”, where he found a large number of vertebrate fossils, and then reported it to Yang Zhongjian.
During the war of resistance against Japan, the literature in Kunming Research Institute was very scarce. Fortunately, the fossil identification was strongly supported by German professor Xu Nai. Yang Zhongjian therefore named it Lu Fenglong of the Xu family. For this reason, he also wrote a poem: “ten million years ago, a Shixiong was given the name Lu Fenglong of the Xu family.”
On December 7, 2015, dinosaur fossils of 180million years ago were found in Yunnan. According to the preliminary identification of experts on site, it is presumed to be the fossils of “giant Lufeng dragon” about 180million years ago.
Later, Yang Zhongjian mentioned in his memoirs that at that time, in order to avoid the Japanese bombing, he moved the research room to the Guandi temple in Wayao Village. In a poem, he described the embarrassing research conditions at that time: “there are dragons hidden in three low houses, and they are bored to study the similarities and differences between withered bones.”
After systematic excavation, research and collation, in 1941, Yang Zhongjian and Bian meinian published the annals of paleontology of China: Lu Fenglong of Xu. The following year, Yang Zhongjian repaired and installed the skeleton of Lufeng dinosaur of Xu family in Chongqing central geological survey, which was the first complete dinosaur skeleton specimen in China and attracted the attention of paleontologists at home and abroad.
In more than 80 years since then, a large number of dinosaur fossil individuals have been unearthed in Lufeng, Yunnan, spanning the early, middle and late Jurassic periods. Therefore, Lufeng is known as the “hometown of dinosaurs in China”.
Blow up the mountain and open the way: discover the “ dinosaur ambassador”
In 1952, a construction team in Sichuan found a huge skeleton when blowing up mountains and opening roads at the construction site next to MaMingXi ferry in Yibin City.
At that time, the workers probably misread “maming River” as “Mamen River” because of the dialect, so they transported these fossils to the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. After the research of the famous paleontologist Mr. Yang Zhongjian, they were named Jianshe Mamen River Dragon.
Mamen stream dragon is famous for its huge body shape and long neck. Its neck can reach 9 meters long. It was once the longest animal on the earth. Mamen Xilong has also served as a “ dinosaur ambassador” for many times, exhibited abroad, and is still the most famous Chinese Dinosaur in the world.
Skeleton fossils of mamenxi dragon in Hechuan
Since the 1960s, more and more dinosaur researchers have emerged in China. Relying on museums and research institutes, they have established the framework of dinosaur research in China.
In 1976, Shulong fossils were found in Dashanpu Town, Zigong City, Sichuan Province, and Dashanpu fauna began to be known. Paleontologist Dongzhiming recalled, “like digging sweet potatoes, fossils are everywhere.” Dashanpu dinosaur fossil group site in Zigong is one of the largest dinosaur fossil group sites in China today, also known as “solidified Jurassic Park”.
Since the 1980s, Chinese Dinosaur research has become more active. It has organized and implemented many large-scale international cooperative investigations, excavations, and studies, held itinerant exhibitions of dinosaur fossils, found many important fossil sites and horizons, and studied and named a large number of new genera and species of dinosaur fauna.
At the same time, certain progress has also been made in the research fields of dinosaur eggs, dinosaur footprints, dinosaur cluster death and extinction, and dinosaur bone histology. The level of some research fields is in the forefront of the world, which has attracted extensive attention all over the world.
Chinese dragon bird fossil
In 1996, many unique feathered dinosaurs were found in Rehe biota in western Liaoning. Among them, the discovery of sinosaurus has brought dinosaur research into a new field. The scientific hypothesis that “birds originated from dinosaurs” has been increasingly demonstrated in Chinese research.
Witness life: go to the forefront of the world
Human research on dinosaurs began in Europe in the 1920s. In 1824, British geologist Buckland described the giant toothed dragon found in England. It was not until 1842 that British paleontologist Owen officially proposed the word “ dinosaur”, which means “terrible lizard”.
Although dinosaur research in China started late, it has developed rapidly. According to the statistics of the China National Museum of Paleontology in June 2019, there are currently 266 genera and 308 species of dinosaurs named in China according to the study of bone fossils, ranking first in the world. In addition, almost 10 new dinosaurs can be found in China every year, which is also the first in the world in terms of speed.
“China’s Dinosaur research is currently at the world’s top level.” He Xin, a researcher at Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, has long been concerned about the study of Paleontology in China. He told reporters, “to some extent, the discovery and naming of new species is one of the most important achievements in dinosaur research. In addition, China is also in the forefront of the world in other paleontological research fields related to dinosaurs. After all, this is a ‘material science’, and we have very rich materials for research.”
After years of development, Chinese dinosaurs still seem to be a little “out of the ordinary” in public cognition, although they are “unparalleled” in the research field.
“Speaking of dinosaurs, everyone blurted out that Tyrannosaurus Rex, Triceratops, Brachiosaurus, etc. almost all lived in North America, and Chinese dinosaurs are almost unknown.” He Xin said, “China still has a lot of room to work on the interaction between mass culture and paleontology.”
As the “top stream” of paleontology, dinosaurs attract the attention of most people, but he Xin said that dinosaurs are only a door to understand the paleontological world.
“In addition to dinosaurs, there are other animals, invertebrates, plants, etc. in paleontology, which are very interesting. For example, the recently discovered fossil of pangolin in the Junggar basin has put forward a new explanation for the topic ‘why the neck of giraffe grows’.” He Xin told reporters.
by artfty | Jun 2, 2022 | Successful Cases
The hospital was founded in November 1986. It is a national third-class first-class Chinese medicine doctor with strong comprehensive strength, which has outstanding specialty advantages, advanced equipment, and both Chinese and Western emphasis. Hospital and Sichuan Provincial Boutique Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. In May 2021, it became the Meishan Hospital directly affiliated to Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is the designated hospital for remote consultation and remote teaching of West China Hospital of Sichuan University and the General Hospital of Chengdu Military Region. Zigong Co-Creation Culture & Art Co., Ltd. provided decoration services for the new site of Meishan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2020, including complete giant wall reliefs, hospital greening and cultural decoration, which have been widely praised.
by artfty | Apr 8, 2022 | Paleontological Science
Science and Technology Daily reporter Zhao Hanbin
The reporter understands from yunnan university on the 17th, the school of life science college of vertebrate team recently in yunnan yuxi of early Jurassic strata in 190 million years ago, found a backbone has class a dinosaur fossil skeleton, on the basis of the skull, vertebrae and upper features, identified as new taxa, named Koch yuxi dragon. The research is published in the international biology journal eLife.
Restoration of Yuxisaurus (painted by Chen Yu, provided by Yunnan University)
“Yuxilong is the earliest crustacean dinosaur ever found in Asia.” According to Bi Shundong, a professor at the College of Life Sciences of Yunnan University, this is a relatively complete fossil skeleton, including part of the skull, lower jaw, spine, limb bones and bone spines or bone plates. It was about 3 meters long and a herbivorous dinosaur, which mainly walked on four legs and could use its forelimbs to feed on tender leaves when necessary. Phylogenetic analysis shows that the new fossils are closely related to the basal group of ankylosaurs, but have distinct morphological characteristics from ankylosaurs and stegosaurs. Current studies believe that some Type A dinosaurs originated about 200 million years ago, but the specific origin is not clear. The discovery of Yuxilong in Asia shows that after the emergence of this group, it rapidly differentiated and spread, and realized global distribution in less than 3 million years.
From the flat-plate stegosaurus to the tank-like ankylosaurus, there are some of the most remarkable creatures on earth. Its fossils are common in late Jurassic rocks 150 million years ago, but rarely found in early Jurassic strata nearly 200 million years ago.
Preservation of Yuxisaurus fossil bones (illustrated by Yao Xi, provided by Yunnan University)
“There have been fossils of A group of dinosaurs in Yunnan before, but they are too fragmented to establish a valid species.” Yao Xi, a postdoctoral researcher at Yunnan University and co-author of the paper, said the discovery provides enough fossil material for the first time to confirm that Yuxi was the ancestral type of both stegosaurus and Ankylosaurus, which helps to understand the morphological characteristics of early members of the Ankylosaurus group. The new fossil bones contain more than 120 bone spurs, or plates, of different shapes, suggesting that some Of the First Dinosaurs were covered with thick plates throughout their bodies in the early Jurassic, and their forms became more diversified.
Editor: Li Xiaohang (intern)
Review: Wang Xiaolong
by artfty | Apr 8, 2022 | Paleontological Science
Recently, a relatively complete water ripple remains and some large dinosaur footprints were discovered in the main fossil remains area of Zhucheng, Shandong province, during the spring fossil field investigation by the dinosaur Culture Research Center staff.
According to experts, the fossil site of the newly discovered water ripple remains was a shallow lake at that time, which proves that the Zhucheng area was covered with dense vegetation during the Mesozoic era, which was very suitable for dinosaurs to live. The climate was dry and the lake was very shallow, and the wind left ripples on the lake. Both sauropod and theropod footprints were found at the site, which is about 10 kilometers away from the site, proving that a large number of sauropod and theropod dinosaurs lived there during the Mesozoic. Based on the comparative analysis of the characteristics of the surrounding rock deposits and the strata around the fossil sites, it is preliminarily concluded that the strata are early Cretaceous geological strata, which is relatively rare in China.
Zhucheng, Shandong province, is a faulted basin in the south of Jiaolai Basin. It was formed in the Cretaceous of Mesozoic era, with complex structural deformation, complete geological strata development and long-term continuous deposition of basin depressions, which created conditions for the formation of dinosaur fossils.
Since the 1960s, more than 30 burial sites of dinosaur fossils have been discovered in Zhucheng, including Kugou, Digecun, Yuhuang, Zangjiazhuang and Houjiatun, covering an area of nearly 1,000 square kilometers. Zhucheng is known as the “ Dragon City of China” because of its rich dinosaur fossil resources.
Source: CCTV News
