The Washington University Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences (CAGS) signed a collaborative research agreement Sept. 18 on campus.
The research agreement is part of a larger initiative by the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences to broaden the University’s involvement in international efforts focused on space sciences.
The agreement will involve collaboration on a number of research thrusts, travel between the two institutions and eventually new student exchange programs.
“The Chinese are becoming a space-faring nation, including launching a robotic lunar orbiter in October,” said Raymond Arvidson, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and chair of Earth and Planetary Sciences. “We want to work with them as they continue to explore space.”
CAGS also expressed excitement about the upcoming collaborative projects between the institutions.
“This agreement is symbolic of a new friendship and new discoveries that we will find with each other’s help,” said Dong Shuwen in an interview with The Record.
Shuwen is vice president of CAGS and signed the agreement along with Arvidson, who believes that students at the University will benefit greatly from the collaboration.
“Students are and will be involved in our research efforts, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels,” said Arvidson. “They can now become exposed to work done in China. That is an enrichment of their educational experience, and it establishes contacts for them for the future.”
There are five major areas of collaboration between the University and CAGS.
The first area includes dating lunar samples to gain a better understanding of the moon’s geologic history. Bradley Jolliff, associate professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, will work with Dunyi Liu and other CAGS scientists on the Apollo samples. Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences Randy Korotev and scientist Ryan Zeigler will work with Jolliff and the new Chinese collaborators on the lunar sample studies.
The second area of work will involve University planetary scientists assisting CAGS researchers in remote sensing data analysis from the Chinese lunar probe project, Chang’E-1, set to be launched next month.
The third area is the study of the evaporative deposits from high-altitude saline lakes and from the weathering belts of sulfide zones of the Tibetan-Qinghai Plateau, a cold and dry geological setting similar to Mars. Alian Wang, senior research scientist in Earth and Planetary Sciences, will work on the Tibetan-Qinghai Plateau project in collaboration with academician Zheng Mianping from CAGS. David Fike will join the collaboration after the beginning of his Washington University appointment as an assistant professor in January 2009.
The fourth area involves collaboration between An Meijian, a geologist from the CAGS, and Washington University Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences Douglas A. Wiens. In late November, Wiens and a team will go to remote regions of Antarctica to place seismographs in both east and west Antarctica. The group hopes to learn about the Earth’s crust and mantle beneath the continent, determine whether the continent might be thawing and to gather information about glaciers, mountains and ice streams.
The fifth area of collaboration will be the isotopic analysis of meteorites. Washington University participants are Frank Podosek, professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, and Frederic Moynier, who will start as an assistant professor in January 2008. The CAGS participant will be Zhu Xiangkun.
Arvidson is confident that the quality of the University’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences will aid the Chinese as well as other international programs.
“Goals are to help the Chinese become international partners in planetary exploration and share their data they way we share our data with other countries,” he said. “Our research efforts will help here in addition to better understanding our planet and other objects in the solar system.”