Translated from www.people.com    14^th, August

It is reported that Sino-US joint scientific investigation to the glaciers in Himalayas set off this noon. This joint group, consisting of more than twenty members and five cross-country vehicles, is to cover a distance of over 3,000km^, following the route from the north slope of Himalayas to Ali area in west Tibet. They will carry out a series of scientific investigation along the way, esp. in Namunani, a peak with the altitude of 7694 m where a large number of glaciers situate. However, due to inconvenient traffic and flexible weather, no scientific investigation has yet been conducted in this region. Our investigation group this time plans to drill some ice cores from glaciers on Namunani for research concerning atmospheric elements change, alteration of atmospheric circulations and variation of micro-organisms in the atmosphere on the Tibetan Plateau.

Prof. Yao Tandong, director of ITP is the team leader of this investigation group, joint by scientists headed by Prof. Lonnie Thompson, American chief scientist who proposed that global warming contributes to the dwarfing of glaciers.