Chinese Scientists Visit USGS Research Centers in Louisiana and Florida

Preparing to begin a meeting at the USGS National Wetlands Research Center are, from left, Hong Wang, deputy director of the China Geological Survey's Research Center for Coastal Geology; Gregory Smith, director of the USGS center; and Shouquan Liu, director of the Quingdao Institute of Marine Geology.

A delegation of scientists from the Chinese Ministry of Land and Resources recently visited U.S. Geological Survey research centers in Louisiana and Florida. Accompanying them was Dawn Lavoie, USGS associate program coordinator of marine geology, Reston, Virginia.

The Chinese delegation, organized by the Research Center for Coastal Geology (RCCG), China Geological Survey, consisted of scientists from the Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology (QIMG) and Tianjin Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources (TIGMR). They were Shouquan Liu, director of QIMG; Hong Wang, deputy director of RCCG; Jian Liu, secretary general of RCCG; Xiaoming Sun, TIGMR; and Zhuang Kelin, QIMG.

On the first day of their visit to Lafayette, Louisiana, the group met with center scientists and faculty from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette at the home of Gregory Smith, director of the USGS National Wetlands Research Center. The next day they toured the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries' Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, located in eastern Cameron and western Vermilion Parishes. They also toured the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, where they learned about the use of water control structures to manage refuge wetlands. On the third day, Smith, Virginia Burkett, USGS, and Wendell Curole of the South Lafourche Levee District took them to Bayou Lafourche, Port Fourchon, and Grand Isle.

On their fourth day, after a tour of the National Wetlands Research Center, the delegation and center staff shared information regarding research studies. USGS staff attending the meeting were Smith, Burkett, Carroll Cordes, James B. Johnston, Gaye S. Farris, Tom Doyle, Jacoby Carter, Elijah Ramsey, and Larry Handley. Discussion included issues of global climate change, coastal land loss, spatial analysis, modeling and technology, and outreach. After the Chinese scientists explained their studies, the group made plans for future collaboration.

The delegation then traveled to the USGS Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies in St. Petersburg, Florida. There they heard presentations from Tara Miller, Julie Bernier, Wayne Baldwin, Abby Sallenger, Chuck Holmes, Carole McIvor, Tom Smith, John Brock, and Amar Nayegandhi. They discussed coastal erosion, subsidence and national shoreline change, use of lidar technology, Tampa Bay project, and the radiometric dating laboratory. Other Chinese scientists and staff from the University of South Florida helped translate the presentations.

The group visited Weedon Island with Tom Smith, who provided background on the Tampa Bay project. Later the delegation and center scientists met at the home of Lisa Robbins, center director. The final day was spent on more presentations and plans for future collaborations.

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