27. July 2018
The team of the International Research Training Group "Geo-ecosystems in Transition on the Tibetan Plateau (TransTiP)", funded by DFG, spent four weeks on a field campaign in the Tibetan highlands. Professor Andreas Hördt from the Institute for Geophysics and Extraterrestrial Physics reports in a small series of logbook entries about the work at the research station on the roof of the world. In the meantime, the scientists are back from the roof of the world. With the last message from Tibet, we are now closing the logbook.
"Climbing for science: Doctoral researcher Felix Nieberding measures the exchange of CO2 and H2O between alpine steppe and atmosphere. For this purpose, the measuring system, consisting of an ultrasonic anemometer and an infrared gas analyzer, must be installed at a sufficient height. The tower is already in place at the research station. However, to mount the device, no fear of heights and professional climbing equipment are required.
Now, most of us are back in Germany, but some doctoral researchers are going to spend a few more weeks in Beijing with their Chinese partners. The scientific evaluation of the data will take some time, especially since a large part of the experiments will be continued in the coming year. In some cases, only then the devices can be read out, and it will be possible to draw initial conclusions about changes over time, possibly due to climate change.
In addition to pure science, we have of course also learned a lot about the Tibetan lifestyle. We accepted butter tea and yak yoghurt from friendly yak herders, we had to eat with chopsticks, of course, and we admired a pool table in a place we would not expect one: in a large single-family tent belonging to a yak herder family, which also serves as a small inn. However, the real rulers of the region are the pikas: small rodents, also called whistling rabbits. Millions upon millions of pikas populate the underground almost completely and can be seen briefly on the surface. They will also be a constant companion next year.