The first online paleo-climatology course at Kathmandu Centre for Research and Education, Chinese Academy of Sciences (KCRE) came to a successful ending this April. The course is lectured by Prof. Lonnie Thompson,academician at National Academy of Sciences, United States (NAS), foreign academician at Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), professor at The Ohio State University and researcher at the Byrd Polar Research Center. The online course was opened for the first time at the Kathmandu Centre in Nepal in 2019, after its debut at the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, CAS in 2009. The real-time class was supported by the long-distance live-broadcasting video technology.

Through 24 classes over 12 weeks, Professor Thompson provided a systemic introduction to the historical records, driving factors and mechanism of the earth’s climate change as well as its impacts on the interaction between climate and human society. He also gave a detailed explanation of the application of multiple mediums covering ice core, annual growth rings, lakes, marine sediments and documentation to reconstructing the ancient climate. His lectures turned out to be helpful to expand the students’ insights.

Beginning from Janaury 8th, 2019, the three-month course enrolled 24 students from Tribhuvan University. The closing ceremony of the class was held at the Kathmandu Centre on April 22nd, 2019 and was attended by Sudha Tripathi, Vice President of Tribhuvan University, Deepak Aryal, Head of the Department of Hydrometeorology, Liu Xiaobo and Binod Dawadi, Deputy Directors of KCRE , and Xu Tianli, coordinator of the KCRE.

This course was very popular among the Nepalese students for it has expanded their understanding and view of paleoclimatology, promoting the academic exchanges between Chinese and Nepalese young scholars and those from other countries, said Vice President Sudha Tripathi. (Editors: Tie Xinyu and Xia Cuihui)

Certificate distribution

Vice President Sudha Tripathi distributing the certificate

Group photo