The Conference on National Scientific & Technological Award was held in Beijing on Jan.10. The research team led by Professor Huang Jianping, dean of College of Atmospheric Sciences at LZU, won China's State Natural Science Award (the Second Class Award).
The research team has conducted a ten-year tough exploration to study the influence of dust on the northwest arid climate. In order to obtain the first-hand data, the team has routinely carried out fixed-point observations of sand-dust weather and walked to Minqin desert area and the Tengger desert for mobile monitoring.
It is the first time that the Chinese research team has made the long-term continuously integrated observation of aerosols, clouds, precipitation and land-atmosphere interaction in the northwest of China. The team classified the different types of sand and dust weather in China, systematically revealed the corresponding spatial-temporal characteristics, formation mechanisms and changing rules, and introduced the three-dimensional transmission path and vertical distribution characteristics of dust in East Asia. The research also found three main ways how the sand-dust aerosol affected the arid climate in the northwest of China. It provided an important scientific basis and theoretical guidance for improving water use efficiency and catalytic artificial rainfall operations in the arid and semi-arid regions.
This research has caused global interests and was highlighted by Nature Geoscience and Nature Reports Climate Change. It is also spoken highly of by the Reviews of Geophysics.
The other team members are Professor Wang Shigong, Professor Wang Tianhe and Chen Bin from College of Atmospheric Sciences of LZU as well as Research Fellow Zhou Zijiang from National Meteorological Information Center.
(Translated by Ren Lina, Proofread by Lawrence Xu)
