From October 31 to November 16, the project team of “Investigation and Prospect Evaluation of Salt Lake Resources in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau” carried out field work in the Qaidam Basin for two weeks. This project is undertaken by ISL, and belongs to the fifth theme of the eighth task of the "Second Comprehensive Scientific Investigation of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau." This field trip aims to understand and investigate the current status of salt lake development in the Qaidam Basin, the status of basic ecological environment, and the causes of salt lake lithium resources. The field investigation was led by Professor Zhang Xiying, the second person in charge of the project, and a total of 12 young scientific researchers from ISL participated.
The scientific research team is divided into three sub-teams, each working on different tasks. Zhang Xiying, Yu Dongmei etc. inspected some key salt lakes and their surroundings, including Chaerhan and Dachaidan. Through the inspections and interviews with some enterprise personnel, they had a preliminary understanding of the current state of salt lake development and the basic ecological environment of the mining area and surrounding areas. Miao Weiliang, Li Yongshou, etc. carried out systematic sample collection of the Nalingrad River system and Weiying Salt Lake, and obtained more than 150 samples of water bodies and sediments such as river water, well water, spring water, lake surface brine, and intergranular brine. In next step, a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the samples will be used to systematically explain the genesis mechanism of salt lake lithium resources. Chen Liang, Tang Qiliang, etc. carried out surveys and sample collections of surface soils of different landform types in the vast areas along the Dulan-Golmud-Utumeren area in the southern Qaidam Basin, and obtained nearly 130 samples of various types. The next step is to study the physical and chemical properties of the soil and the degree of salinization.
During this field trip, the scientific expedition team members carried out the corresponding work in an active, serious and responsible manner, successfully completed the established tasks, and laid a good foundation for the further development of the second scientific expedition work in the later period.
Group photo of the scientific team before their departure
Group photo of the expedition members in the field
Field work photograph