The first Chinese scientific expedition to the East African Rift
Valley left Beijing yesterday for a 15-day trip.
"Since this is the first expedition to the rift zone by Chinese
scientists, it aims to collect basic information and make
preliminary studies, laying foundations for further research
trips," said Gao Dengyi, team leader and president of the China
Association for Scientific Expeditions, the trip's organizers.
The team will research tectonic plate movements and geological
changes, as well as human origins, said Gao. "The East African Rift
Valley is an ideal place for scientific studies in various fields,
including palaeoanthropology, geology, biology and
meteorology."
The team has 18 members, including eight scientists and several
media specialists.
Huang Wanbo, a palaeoanthropologist, will investigate early
hominids and geologist Sui Jianli will study plate movements and
volcanic activity.
Zhang Shuyi, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of
Zoology, will study local baboons and bats and Gao, an Institute of
Atmospheric Physics researcher, will focus on environmental
change.
The East African Rift Valley is one of the most extensive rifts
on the Earth's surface, extending 6,400 kilometers from Jordan to
Mozambique.
The team will mainly work in southern Ethiopia in the widest
area of the valley, about 1,300 kilometers across.
It has been a rich source of anthropological discovery because
the rapidly eroding highlands have filled the valley with sediment,
creating a favorable environment for the preservation of
remains.
(China Daily August 3, 2005)