Researchers have uncovered over 1,700 previously unknown virus species dating back thousands of years in ice cores from the Tibetan Plateau, providing unprecedented insights into ancient viral diversity and adaptation to climate changes.
Viral communities in glacier ice varied significantly between cold and warm climatic periods, with the most distinct community appearing around 11,500 years ago, coinciding with the shift from the Last Glacial Stage to the Holocene.
China launched a scientific expedition in Lhasa to investigate the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, focusing on one glacier, two lakes, and three rivers, with over 400 researchers participating in six research teams.
The region is home to Purog Kangri Glacier, Siling Lake, Namtso Lake, and the birthplace of three major rivers, and climate and environmental changes in the region have had significant implications for human survival and development over the past 20 years.
The expedition aims to identify climate and ecological changes in the region and propose measures for ecological protection and green development, using various methods to study glacier changes, lake cores, carbon cycles, and environmental evolution.
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq
Sources: Popsci.com, diariouno.com.ar, The Conversation, India Today, China News, iflscience.com, scienmag.com, phys.org