The fourth glacier is in the west of China. There is no doubt about the existence of the Quaternary glacier. As early as the early 1940s, when the famous geologist Huang led the petroleum geological survey in Xinjiang, he studied the Quaternary glacial sediments at the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain, published two papers, expounded the evidence of the existence of ice ages, and divided them into three ice ages, represented by different moraines. The above-mentioned moraine series can still be found in today's investigation, and it has been fully recognized in the whole academic community.
The appearance of glaciers has a great influence on the global climate and biological development, especially the Quaternary glaciers, which directly affect the living environment of human beings. The study and confirmation of Quaternary glaciers has both special theoretical significance and universal practical significance, so it has always attracted people to make unremitting efforts.
The fourth glacier was found near the dam of Qilitan Hydropower Station in Longxi River, Yunlong Town, liangping county, Chongqing, which is a glacier relic more than 2 million years ago. The site is located on the dry river bed in front of the dam. There are countless dense caves on the whole huge rock. Most caves are oval and round, with a large diameter of about 3 meters and a small one of several centimeters. Experts from the Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences believe that the discovered ice mound is a rare geological relic, which is the result of Quaternary glacier movement, and it has been about 2-3 million years ago.
An investigation team led by Professor Han Tonglin, an expert on Quaternary Glacier in China, discovered Wanmadu Stone Glacier, the largest relic of Quaternary Glacier in China, at the foot of Tianmu Mountain in Xinchang County, Zhejiang Province on the 7th.
Through on-the-spot investigation, Han Tonglin and other glacier research experts found a large number of Quaternary ice cap glacial remains such as glacial boulders and moraine ridges in the 3-kilometer-long Wanmadu River Valley, which further confirmed that the larger Stonehenge in the valley, Marek Pentium, was a glacial river relic formed by glacial drift and deposition during the Quaternary Glacier Period about 2 million to 3 million years ago. Professor Han Tonglin, a researcher at the Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, and the exhibition hall of Quaternary Glacier Relics in China, believes that the large ice stone river discovered in Wanmadu River basin in Xinchang has left many important information about the Quaternary Glacier Period, which is of great scientific value for studying the global environmental evolution and predicting the future climate change trend.
China's research on Quaternary glaciers began with the famous geologist Li Siguang.
192 1 year, Li Siguang discovered glacier boulders in Datong, Shanxi Province and the eastern foot of Taihang Mountain in Hebei Province, and identified the scratches formed by glacier flow. In the 1930s, he discovered glacial sediments in Lushan Mountain, Jiangxi Province, and sheepback stones with glacial scratches in Poyang Lake. Scratches on the U-shaped valley wall were found in Huangshan Mountain, Anhui Province, and pebbles with scratches were found in the sea behind the mountain.
After these important discoveries, Li Siguang published papers such as Quaternary Glacier in the Yangtze River Basin and Quaternary Glacier Phenomenon in Huangshan Mountain, Anhui Province, and later published a monograph Lushan Mountain in the Ice Age. He proposed that Lushan Glacier can be divided into three glacial periods, the oldest being "Poyang Lake Glacier", which occurred in the early Pleistocene and was the largest, and the green gravel beside Poyang Lake was important evidence. Then came the "Dagu Ice Age", which belonged to the early Middle Pleistocene, represented by the ochre mud and gravel in Dagushan area. The relatively new one is the "Lushan Ice Age", which belongs to the late Middle Pleistocene, and its scale has been greatly reduced. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, some scholars suggested that the "Dali Ice Age" was later than the "Lushan Ice Age" and belonged to the late Pleistocene, represented by the moraine in Cangshan, Dali, Yunnan. In this way, the Quaternary has the above four glacial periods, which correspond to the four classical glacial periods proposed by German punk and brukner at the beginning of the 20th century based on the study of Quaternary glacial deposits in Alps.
Li Siguang's theory about Quaternary Glaciers in eastern China had collaborators and supporters in the early days, including a group of China geologists such as Li Jie, and foreign geologists, such as Fessman in Austria, Narifkin in the former Soviet Union and Miller in the United States. The existence of Quaternary glaciers in China has attracted the attention of international geologists.
Shi Yafeng, the pioneer of modern glacier research in China, questioned the existence of Quaternary glaciers in the middle and low mountainous areas in eastern China in the early 1980s. They believe that the so-called "ice bucket" in Lushan area does not have ice sill and ice bucket chassis topography, but is the result of the simultaneous action of hillside block movement and running water erosion; "u-shaped valley" is a wide valley formed by flowing water acting on syncline valley or controlled by weak stratum; "Mud gravel" is formed by the accumulation of gravity, ice-melting mud flow and ancient debris flow. They further concluded that the Quaternary temperature, snow line and area ratio of glacier accumulation area (AAR) in the middle and low mountainous areas in eastern China (below 3000m above sea level) were not suitable for glacier development. Whether there are glaciers in the Quaternary in eastern China has become an unsolved case. At present, this academic debate continues.
But in the west of China, there is no doubt about the existence of Quaternary glaciers. As early as the early 1940s, when the famous geologist Huang led the petroleum geological survey in Xinjiang, he studied the Quaternary glacial sediments at the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain, published two papers, expounded the evidence of the existence of ice ages, and divided them into three ice ages, represented by different moraines. The above-mentioned moraine series can still be found in today's investigation, and it has been fully recognized in the whole academic community.
The appearance of glaciers has a great influence on the global climate and biological development, especially the Quaternary glaciers, which directly affect the living environment of human beings. The study and confirmation of Quaternary glaciers has both special theoretical significance and universal practical significance, so it has always attracted people to make unremitting efforts.
China Quaternary Glacier Relics Exhibition Hall
China Quaternary Glacier Relics Exhibition Hall is located next to the sliding surface of Quaternary Glacier bedrock in Modaokou, Shijingshan District, facing Yongding River and backed by Cuiwei Mountain. It is the only glacier relic museum in the world so far. 1992 officially opened in July.
The remains of the ice slip surface of the Quaternary glacier bedrock in the model mouth were produced in the cold period when the Quaternary climate fluctuated greatly. At that time, because of the sudden increase of snowfall, it was much greater than the melting amount of snow, and the altitude conditions on the mountain were suitable for regional snow to form ice. When its thickness and weight are unbearable for the mountain, the ice body moves down with the mountain under its own gravity, which forms a glacier. The ice sliding surface of bedrock is the rock carved and scraped by shovel when glaciers pass by.
The exhibition in the museum introduces the basic knowledge of Quaternary Glaciers, the establishment and development of Mr. Li Siguang's Quaternary Glacier Theory, the research and application of Glacier System, Wang's role in national economic construction, and the distribution and investigation of Quaternary Glaciers in China. Most of the exhibits are photos of glacial remains and some rock samples. In the field of popular science facing the society, museums can also give full play to their own advantages. Special exhibitions such as "the influence of climate and environment on human survival and development", "How to develop civilization in the future ice age" and "Glacier phenomenon provides energy function for today's human storage and lists the potential great threat of human civilization" can give us a deeper understanding of Quaternary glaciology.
The Glacier Pavilion not only spread and introduced the popular science knowledge of the earth and geology to the general audience, but also promoted the patriotic spirit of Li Siguang and other older generation scientists who bravely climbed the scientific peak and struggled hard. At the same time, it also provides an activity place for experts and scholars in the field of geology to conduct field visits and academic exchanges.