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Giant ‘lake' rich in oil
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Hu Zheye
AN INTERNATIONAL scientists panel has confirmed after careful research that a giant ‘lake' which might contain vital strategic resources lies under the Tibetan Plateau, the State media reported on Monday.
The panel, which consists of scientists from China, the United States and Canada, announced their findings in the American magazine Science after a recently-conducted physical survey of the earth, according to the reports.
Professor Wei Wenbo, the Chinese scientist who is on the international panel, thinks that the unique inner structure of the crust under the Tibetan Plateau demonstrates that rich oil field, terrestrial heat field and ore field containing gold, silver, bronze and stannum might exist under the plateau.
The scientists hold great regard for the theoretical value of the research, the reports said, for once the elevation mechanism of the Tibetan Plateau is discovered, human being's understanding of the environmental changes of the earth would be greatly enriched, and the issue of searching for the strategic resources would be readily solved.
However, the media reports that a giant “lake” has been found under the Tibetan Plateau was questioned by Zhang Wenjin, chief researcher of the Chinese Academy of Geology, the Beijing Youth Daily reported on Wednesday.
The so-called “lake" is not the lake in the general sense, it refers to the solute layer with high electric conductivity under the Tibetan Plateau, Zhang said.
As for whether resources are rich under the plateau, with the research work still undergoing, it is too early to draw any definite conclusion, the paper quotes Zhang as saying.
Zhao Ping, an expert specializes in geothermics, noted that the “lake" mentioned in the media reports might be the “fluid layer" under the Tibetan Plateau. There is so far no sufficient evidence to show that the area is rich in terrestrial heat, Zhao said. High electric conductivity cannot possibly be used as the only evidence, he argued.
Multi-disciplinary studies are needed to determine whether the so-called large “lake" exists under the Tibetan Plateau, Zhao told the Beijing Youth Daily.
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