Headed by Yao Tandong, director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, and Prof. Lonnie Thompson from Ohio State University, a group of Chinese and US scientists have recently wrapped up their work on ice core extraction at a glacier 6,100 meters above the sea level on the Mt. Naimona'nyi in southwest Himalayas.

After more than two-month hard work, they recovered four ice cores, three to the bedrock with a length of 113.65, 137.77 and 158.04 meters and a shallow one, providing fresh data for reconstructing climate variation since the last Glacial Epoch in the region.

The 7,694-meter-hight Mt. Naimona'nyi lies in the western tip of the mid-Himalayas in Burang County of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. More than 20 glaciers are developing around its main peak. The area was considered an ideal spot for ice core recovery by the Sino-US team during a trip in 2004.

In the recent expedition, the e team camped its headquarters at a valley about 4,800 meters in elevation on Sept .10, and pitched the second campsite at the tip of a glacier valley about 5,600 meter about sea level on Sept. 23. The team arrived at glacier surface about 6,100 meters above the sea level after a week's trek, carrying on their backs the drilling equipment and daily necessities.

The team chose a glacier with largest scale with the gentlest slope for ice core extraction and started their work. They sampled the first ice core to the bedrock on Oct. 2 and a third one nine days later with a length of 158 meters. However, for 15 Chinese workers, it is extremely difficult to transport the 420-meterice-long ice core weighting about four tons to the headquarters. To do the back-breaking task, they spent 6-8 hours for each trip trekking on the ruged path covered by broken stones.

The feat marks an initial success for the field work of Naimona'nyi ice recording, a component of Response of Environmental Changes on Tibetan Plateau to Global Changes and Adaptation Strategy, a project supported by the National Basic Research Program, dubbed 973 Program. The next step work will be carried out in laboratories.