The 2019 TPE & TransTiP Science & Technology Training and ITP Undergraduate Summer School was successfully held in Sichuan, China from Aug.12-23. About 80 people attended the program, representing universities and research institutions from China, Germany, Pakistan, Nepal, Tajikistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Sri Lanka and India. The program was sponsored by the Kathmandu Center for Research and Education (KCRE), Chinese Academy of Sciences-Tribhuvan University (CAS-TU) and Sino-German Center, organized by the Third Pole Environment (TPE) program and the IRTG Geo-ecosystems in Transition on the Tibetan Plateau (TransTiP), supported by the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, CAS (ITPCAS ), the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, CAS (IMHE) and the China Society on Tibetan Plateau (CSTP).

 

 

The program comprised 20 lectures in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, as well as a 5-day field trip to Mt.Gongga, also in Sichuan. A total of 22 prominent scientists from around the world were invited to introduce the latest methods, technology and achievements in TPE research from the fields of glaciology, atmospheric science, hydrology, geology, environmental change and ecology.

 

During the Aug.19-23 field trip, participants visited the Hailuogou Glacier and the Gongga Alpine Ecosystem Observation and Experiment Station, located on the eastern slope of Mt.Gongga on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Mt.Gongga features dramatically different landscapes, such as subtropical farmland, mountainous primeval forest and a marine glacier, due to variations in the mountain's geographic and geomorphic conditions. The famous Hailuogou Glacier covers an area of 25 km2, with the terminal of the glacier stretching down to the forest area at 2900m. The great ice fall in the middle of the glacier –1080-m long– is spectacular. Research conditions on Mt. Gongga are excellent due to the significant interaction among cryosphere, biosphere and human activity. Afterward, Prof.Fan Zhang took participants to visit the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, which is famous for being harmonious with nature.