Dr. Xuekun Fang, Professor

College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

Biography

Dr. Xuekun Fang is a professor at the College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, China, and a recipient of the National Major Youth Talent Program. From 2014 to 2019, he served as a postdoctoral fellow and research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States. His research focuses on ozone layer protection, carbon neutrality, and climate change mitigation, particularly on the emission tracing and response strategies of ozone-depleting substances (ODS) and greenhouse gases at global and regional scales. His work integrates atmospheric observations, model simulations, and policy analysis. He has published 68 papers in journals, including 47 as first or corresponding author, such as 2 papers in Nature, 2 in Nature Geoscience, 2 in Nature Communications, and 1 in PNAS. Dr. Fang currently serves as a member of the Scientific Expert Group on the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, vice chairman of the Environmental Planning Professional Committee of the China Environmental Science Society, and a co-author of the United Nations UNEP/WMO 2022 Ozone Assessment Report. He was awarded the Young Scientist Award by the China Environmental Science Society in 2021.

Topic

Fluorinated Gases for the Ozone Layer and Climate: Historical and Future Emissions

Abstract

Accurate understanding of the spatiotemporal variations in the emissions of fluorinated gases is essential for ozone layer recovery and climate change mitigation. However, current knowledge of these emissions still has limitations in both time and space. We aim to investigate the temporal variations of emissions at different spatial scales, thereby verifying existing emission inventories or updating them based on the verification results. This will allow us to more precisely understand the spatiotemporal patterns of fluorinated gas emissions.

Dr. Wencai Yang, Professor

Institute of Geo-science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

Biography

Dr. Wencai Yang, a professor of Institute of Geosciences in Zhejiang University, researching and teaching on Earth imaging and geodynamics. He was born in Guangdong province in 1942, graduated from Beijing Geology Institute in 1964, and got Ph.D from McGill University in Canada in 1984. He was a Royal Fellowship member of UK in 1987 and academician of Chinese Academy of Science since 2005, and has been an executive committee member of Chinese Geological Society and Chinese Geophysical Society; the Chief-editor of Geological Review since 2008.

Topic

On the Hydrogen Energy, New Materials and Mineral of Rare-Metal Deposits

Abstract

The solid Earth is the center of energy and mass of the geo-space. Three-dimensional physical property imaging of the upper mantle reveals the movement patterns of matter in the Earth's interior, and the following three inferences world be drawn from the movement patterns. (1) The Earth came from the hydrogen-helium clouds, and a large amount of hydrogen-helium is still preserved in the interior of the Earth, which has become the main material components in the Earth’s fluid-channel networks. The hydrogen-helium reserve in the deep Earth can still be great and incomputable. The exploitation of hydrogen-helium energy in the deep part of the Earth is more beneficial to the sustainable development better than the extraction of hydrogen from seawater. (2) The exploitation of hydrogen-helium energy in the deep part of the Earth requires the development of ultra-deep drilling of about 20 km. The ultra-deep drilling requires new materials of preservation of rigidity at high temperatures. Research on this kind of new materials is key for the exploitation. Where does this new kind of materials come from? It is necessary to look at the periodic table of chemical elements. There is a certain law of element formation in the Earth: elements with superposition of atomic number by 2 and 4 are more abundant, and elements with higher atomic number were generated later in the Earth. As the later elements were generated, their structures became more complex with more complicate properties. The expected new materials for the exploitation can be found from elements with some high atomic numbers that preserve rigidity at high temperatures. Rare-metal elements belong to what we want. (3) At present, half of China's lithosphere is formed relatively young, so it is rich of high atomic numbers, especially the rare-earth ores. Three-dimensional imaging shows that the reserves of the Baiyun-Obo mine in Baotou are account to have half of the world's rare-earth minerals, which was formed by long-term geological actions of the diapir of the asthenosphere 250 million years ago. At present, the exploitation and applications of rare-earth elements in Baotou City have just formed a preliminary productive force, and the prospects for its development are huge and bright. The use of rare-metal minerals and then further develop the new materials will form a complete and very advanced manufacturing chain in China.