Water: Qinghai Lake

Qinghai Lake



Qinghai lake is just magnificent. And the biggest inland salt lake in China. Situated on 3200 meter it is the second highest in the world, only beaten by Namtso lake on the Tibetan plateau. I've had the extraordinary pleasure of visiting them both.

Non-free Lhasa

Non-free Lhasa



It makes me so sad to read this article. After the Tibetan revolt early 2008 hardly any media has been allowed to visit Tibet. Filming is obviously completely out of the question. BBC was heavily controlled while visiting Lhasa: No room to talk in 'stable' Tibet.

I was there with a camera crew in August 2007. As it turns out just in time before everything closed down. The Chinese started to feel the tension already back then, and it was only because I am extremely stubborn that we got to go so many places that we ended up doing.

Due to varying internet connection our blog from the trip is shorter than planned, but you can check it out here at Geodetic Journey if you like. We traveled with both Chinese and Tibetans and we felt warmly welcome everywhere.

China and Climate Change

China and Climate Change Challenges





The media will be packed with climate change articles and opinions as we get closer to the Copenhagen meeting in December. I'll be contributing to the discourse, too. This is one fresh article written about the ongoing work by among others the Stockholm Environment Institute.

I do believe China is capable of leap-frogging the western worlds polluting history. It is a question of international politics to make that actually happen...

Solar Eclipse - 2009

Solar Eclipse coming up



I 'almost' went to China to experience this solar eclipse. Now I'm working in Rome instead...:-)

InSAR in Wenchuan - China

Funky 'Seismic' Pattern



Credits: Jianbao Sun, IGCEA, Seismology and Geology, No.3, 2008

Wenschuan, China, May 2008




InSAR is the hottest tool to use from space - look how totally hippie the Wenchuan earthquake looks like using interferometry.

Using InSAR and GPS data, scientists are able to measure and monitor where and how stress changes in the crust as well as how any associated deformation is distributed.

We are definitely going to see more of these kind of maps! :-)

And oh, yeah. I dedicated an episode of A Green Space - A Green Earth to natural hazards. There you can see equivalent maps of L'Aquila after the earthquake this April. It has absolutely nothing to do with G8 in case you wonder...:-)

Space A La China

Space A La China



This is an excellent illustration that space can be experienced in very different ways depending on your cultural standpoint. I can't express how much I love the perspective of space exploration inherit in this happy illustration. So fundamentally different than our streamlined Western approach. :-)

Happiness and friendship in space!

Thrown my way by Andrzej

Dunhuang Star Map

Dunhuang



Gorgeous ancient Chinese star map. :-)

Chang'e-1 encounter lunar surface

Chang'e-1 Hits The Moon



So far, so good for China's Lunar mission. Yes, it was a planned crash landing on the lunar surface. :-)

Saving WIldlife in China after The Quake

After The Quake




Bee hives in tree logs

Rebuilding the 'panda corridor' in China after the 12th May 2008 Earthquake is dangerous business. According to WWF they have hope.

Chinese New Year

Happy New Year!



Actors and dancers dressed in Qing Dynasty costumes perform at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China


I know, I know. New Years Eve was yesterday. On Saturday the Chinese contingency here in Norway invited me to their annual new year party, but due to a certain blizzard I was stuck in the country side where I live and could not get to Oslo where the party was. Too bad! I guess I was set back to such a degree I forgot to say Happy New Year for more than 24 hours!

China! :-)

Blue China

Bizarre Blue China



Artist: Li Xiaofeng

I fell for this sculpture in blue. Not surprisingly. Generally, I find contemporary Chinese art very interesting.




More images of of Li Xiaofeng's work

Taikonauts

Picnic in Space



As you can see going to space, go for an EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) and land in a funny capsule in Inner Mongolia is a piece of cake or rather just like a picnic, for the Chinese taikonauts. What is all the fuzz about!?! ;-)

Chinese EVA

Taikonauts EVA



Chinese Spacewalking!

China in Space

Chinese Space Snacking






What most people fail to appreciate when it comes to space exploration is the importance of a sound ground segment. For precise navigation we depend on good knowledge of our own planet, especially a geodetic reference frame. On the image we see a telescope in Inner Mongolia getting ready to assist the descent of Shenzhou-7. We can't have the taikonauts choking on space snacks just because we didn't know the exact whereabouts of Shenzhou, can we? :-)

Chinese Space

Taikonaut About To Spacewalk



Credit: Xinhua

This is the lucky bloke scheduled for a spacewalk later this month. HIs name is Zhai Zhigang.





The rest of the gang. From the left: Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming, Jing Haipeng


China is the third nation that independently launch manned spacecrafts. Shenzhou VII, the spacecraft scheduled for launching 25. September 2008, is the third manned spaceflight for China. I don't blame them for being proud; like the first Chinese taikonaut Yang Liwei express below. Taikonaut is the Chinese word for the English astronaut and Russian Cosmonaut.

Ancient Chinese Mathematics

Chinese Mathematical Art




Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art

The first chapter of this historical book is about surveying, the basis for all mapping. Nine Chapter of Mathematics is all about practical applications of mathematics in ancient China. It was written over a longer period of time and by various unknown authors. Later there are a number of Chinese mathematicians writing comments on the content of the book.

I had not heard about this work until I was preparing for my visits to China, but this very book belong to the ancient history all Chinese learn about today. Chinese science history in general however remains a treasure to be discovered by both the Chinese themselves as well as the rest of the world.

Water Cube

Applied Mathematics








Photo: B L Bye

National Aquatics Center - Water Cube, under construction July 2007

China in Space

China Blasts Off to Space




Saturday 6th September, China launched earth observation satellites to assist in disaster managment such as earthquakes and flooding. China is independently developing their space program, but as all the other space agencies, international cooperation is highly regarded and necessary. This July they tightened their connection to both Russia and Europe.




China's Long March series of rockets.

China was the third nation to independently launch manned spacecrafts. And they are continuing their space activities by developing further their suite of rockets as well as other technological and scientific programs.

Xinhua reported Saturday 6th September 2008 that Shenzhou 7, China's third human spaceflight, will launch between Sept. 25 and 30, several weeks earlier than previously announced.

As seen from Shanghai

As People's Daily reports

Clean Air Science

Olympic Geoscience



Credit: NASA

Thick smog often obscures the sky over Beijing. Residents are frequently warned to stay indoors.


The air in Beijing is thick. To ease both the athletes and the spectators lives the authorities have taken measures to reduce the pollution of the air in and around Beijing while the Olympic games take place. It is also a gigantic scientific experiment that would never had happened were it not for sports! Moreover, it is also a project where two competing super powers of the world, China and the US, cooperate. Nothing is really just black and white, is it? :-)




Credit: Scripps Institution of Oceanography

An AUAV sampling the atmosphere. The aircraft may be airborne for hours and travel hundreds of miles. Click on image.

Green Games 2008

Green Games






I know for a fact that both UN Environmental program and China have made great efforts turning the Olympics in China genuinely green. I know because I have made my very very small contribution to it.

The Report