China releases latest findings from second Qinghai-Tibet Plateau scientific expedition

LHASA -- China's second Qinghai-Tibet Plateau scientific expedition has yielded significant practical outcomes, with its top 10 application achievements officially released on Wednesday in Lhasa, capital of Southwest China's Xizang autonomous region.

Led by Yao Tandong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the achievements span critical areas including ecological conservation, disaster prevention, resource exploration, carbon accounting, traffic safety, and border area development.

Notable results include scientific support for legislation on plateau ecological protection, establishment of a platform for Earth observation and early warning, and innovative technologies for disaster prevention and control in permafrost regions, aiding major infrastructure projects like the Sichuan-Xizang Railway and expressways.

"We have successfully issued six early warnings, which ensured the smooth progress of local engineering projects and safeguarded the lives and safety of the people," said Yao, adding that the scientific team assessed the disaster baseline of the Sichuan-Xizang traffic corridor, including 52 key disaster points, avoiding over 97 percent of mountain disasters, and optimizing the corridor route by over 400 kilometers.

The plateau is currently exhibiting a trend of warming, wetting and "greening" that amplifies both regional and global climate impacts, Yao noted. It was also found that the water supply capacity of the "Asian Water Tower" has significantly risen, with runoff projections showing increases of up to 49 percent by the end of the century, crucial for water security for billions.

Since its launch in August 2017, the second expedition has mobilized over 3,000 research teams and more than 30,000 personnel, conducting comprehensive surveys across the entire plateau region.

The scientific expedition has made a series of surprising discoveries in biodiversity. Sun Hang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, noted that the first major discovery is a new echolocating mammal group: the pig-tailed mice (Typhlomys).

"In the past, we believed that only a few animals, such as bats and dolphins, have echolocation abilities, but the discovery of pig-tailed mice has broken this cognitive boundary. This is a new echolocating group found in mammals, which is of great significance for understanding the evolution of animal sensory systems," Sun explained.

The second discovery is about genetic memory in bird migration. Researchers found that bird migration routes do not entirely rely on acquired learning but can be passed through genetic memory. This genetic memory actually reflects the changes in geological history.

Sun said that this discovery not only explains how birds pass down migration routes through generations but also provides a new perspective for understanding the relationship between biological behavior and geological evolution.

In addition, the scientific expedition has discovered a large number of plants once thought extinct, such as the Motuo lily (Motuoorchis pulchra). Rare animals like snow leopards have been frequently captured on field cameras.

"The significance of these discoveries lies not only in filling scientific gaps but more importantly, they reveal the unique status of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau as a 'biodiversity museum' and 'cradle of species in the Northern Hemisphere,' providing key evidence for understanding the formation and evolution of global biodiversity patterns," Sun said.