From August 25th to 29th, the 3rd Youth Forum on Earth and Planetary Science and the 2018 Mars Science Summer Training Course were held in Delhi city, Qinghai Province. The forum was jointly organized by the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Key Laboratory of Salt Lake Geology and Environment of Qinghai Province, and the Key Laboratory of Integrated and Efficient Utilization of Salt Lake Resources of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The theme of this youth forum is “The Enlightenment of Martian Research in the Martian Analogue Area of the Qaidam Basin in China”, which focuses on the two main lines of the geological environment evolution and the Martian analog zone in the Qaidam Basin. Researchers from more than 20 universities and research institutes across the country gathered in Qaidam to discuss the research progress of the Martian analog zone (Qaidam Basin) and its implications for the study of major scientific issues in Mars.

After the Youth Forum, the participants also conducted a two-day joint survey of wild landforms and sediments in the Qaidam Basin. A field trip was conducted to the small sand dunes of Xiaochaidan, Chaer Khan, the Chaerhan Salt Lake and the shell dyke of Nomuhong.

Speech by Deputy Director Wu Zhijian

Opening ceremony 

Field trip