Brief Introduction

Based on START Regional Center for Temperate East Asia (START TEA RC) which was founded as a research entity in 1995, the Key Laboratory of Regional Climate-Environment for Temperate East Asia (RCE-TEA) was established in December 2003. The laboratory contributes its major studies on the behaviors and mechanisms of the regional environment system of East Asia, especially of China, and follows the multi-disciplinary integrating methodology to meet the state requirements on deal with complicated environmental problems. Based on the efforts both in academic researches and in international co-operations, the laboratory plays an active role in the international global change studies.

The RCE-TEA has a regular staff of 25, including one academician, nine research professors, and eight associate research professors. Among the staff, one is the winner of the National Funds for Outstanding Youth, three accepted by the CAS-sponsored Bairen Program and 21 of them have Ph.D.

Research Directions and Foci

The main research tasks of RCE-TEA include the understanding of regulation and mechanism of the adaptation of East Asia Monsoon System to Global Change; the development of theories and methods developed for trend prediction of Regional Environment Change in the upcoming 20-50 years; the exploring of scientific route for the human orderly adaptation; and providing scientific basis for the sustainable development. The main research foci of RCE-TEA, composed of, the integrated analysis on the off-normal responses of East Asia monsoon environment system to global change; the comprehensive observational experiment on the impacts of orderly human activities on life-supporting environment; the regulation on the catastrophic and extreme events of regional environment system. The recent research foci are: targeted at the vital to the national requirements, aridification in Northern China, carrying out the integrated research on regional environment system; developing a new version of integrated regional environment system model to uplift the simulation capacity of the interaction between human activities and water, soil, air and biota; and to raise the quantitative estimate on trend of aridification in northern China.

Objectives

The RCE-TEA is to be constructed into a top-ranking research laboratory in the field of regional environment dynamics study in the background of global change in Asia. Its leading status in integrated simulation study of East Asia environmental system has been to maintain in the international arena and new horizons have to be pioneered in the research of Orderly Human Adaptation.

Research Areas

• The integrated studies on the monsoon environmental system of East Asia under global change;
  
• The comprehensive field experiments and studies on the effects of orderly human activities to life support environment;
  
• The studies on abrupt change and extreme of the regional environment system.

Current Research Emphases

• The integrated studies on the aridification in northern China;
  
• Further development of Regional Integrated Environmental Modeling System (RIEMS), improving its capacities of modeling the interactions among water, soil, air, biota and human activities;
  
• The quantitative prediction of aridification in northern China upon state requirements.

Director: Prof. Yan Xiaodong
Deputy Director: Prof. Ma Zhuguo Mr. Wang Lizhi
Director of the Scientific Committee: Prof. Cao Jiping
Tel: +86-10-82995133