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ChinaScience

Does Tibet’s ‘Heavenly Lake’ hold clues to the future in core samples from ancient past?

  • Chinese-led international research team says record-setting drill project at Nam Co could provide ecological information vital to future planning

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Crews on a platform on Nam Co in Tibet have drilled to a record depth of 510 metres to extract core samples that could be vital to understanding what the future holds for the region. Photo: Xinhua
Yijing Shen
A Chinese-led international climate research team has drilled its way into the record books after digging deep into the past of one of the largest and deepest lakes on the Tibetan Plateau.
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The team drilled to a depth of 510.2 metres (1,674 feet), well past the previous record of 153.4 metres for the deepest lake drilling in China, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Wednesday.

Over 42 days, the team drilled seven holes at Nam Co, or “Heavenly Lake”, which sits 4,700 metres above sea level, and extracted more than 951 metres of core samples from the bottom of the lake.

The core samples of sediment from Nam Co are expected to help understand environmental changes on the plateau. Photo: Xinhua
The core samples of sediment from Nam Co are expected to help understand environmental changes on the plateau. Photo: Xinhua

Researchers hope Nam Co’s sediment, which is more than 700 metres thick, will shed new light on climate change and the geological evolution of the plateau.

The project “will provide new scientific evidence for the study of climate and environmental changes on the Tibetan Plateau over the past million years”, the report said.

The Nam Co drilling project, which is being conducted through the International Continental Scientific Drilling Programme (ICDP), was carried out at the highest ever altitude for such an endeavour.

Researchers and technicians pose for a photo on July 12 to celebrate sample collections from the lake. Photo: Xinhua
Researchers and technicians pose for a photo on July 12 to celebrate sample collections from the lake. Photo: Xinhua

The expedition team comprises 70 scientists and drilling technicians from the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as well as researchers from Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and other countries.

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