Preface to the special issue dedicated to the 37^(th) International Geological Congress

The 37^(th) International Geological Congress,a premier forum held quadrennially and eagerly anticipated by geologists and geology enthusiasts worldwide,will take place from August 25 to 31,2024 in Busan,Republic of Korea.To celebrate this grand event,China Geology,a multidisciplinary geosciences journal sponsored by China Geological Survey and Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences(where the Secretariat of the International Union of Geological Sciences is currently located),presents this special issue and extends our best wishes for the success of the conference!

IUGS released first 100 Geological Heritage Sites and China has seven in the list

On October 26,2022,the International Union of Geological Sciences(IUGS)unveiled the First 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites in Spain.These sites are located in56 countries,including 34 in the Americas,28 in Europe,15 in Africa and 23 in the Asia-Pacific-Middle East region(Table 1).The seven selected sites of China are introduced as follows(black font in Table 1).

Motivation of desert to Oasis: Photovoltaic power generation and carbon neutrality

China has vast areas of deserts,gobis,and desertified lands,with a total area of 3.96×106 km2,accounting for 41.3%of the national land area.The desert area is 6.88×105 km2,the Gobi area is 6.61×105 km2,and the desertification land area is 2.61×106 km2,respectively(National Forestry and Grassland Administration,2018).These are mainly distributed in the northwestern and northern regions west of the“Hu Huanyong Line”(Fig.1),including Taklimakan Desert,Gurban Tungut Desert,Badain Jalan Desert,Tengger Desert,Ulan Buhe Desert,Kubuqi Desert,Qaidam Basin Desert and Kumtag Desert,Mu Us Sandy Land,Hunshandak Sandy Land,Horqin Sandy Land and Hulun Buir Sandy Land.

Progress in carbon capture,utilization and storage of China Geological Survey and other geological exploration entities

Carbon capture,utilization,and storage(CCUS),as a green and low-carbon technology that can achieve large-scale reduction of direct emission and low-carbon utilization of fossil fuels,has become an indispensable technological option for countries around the world to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,strengthen climate governance,and achieve climate goals.Since 2009,China Geological Survey(CGS)has organized and carried out lots of programs to prompt the development of CCUS technology in China,such as national carbon dioxide geological storage potential assessment,carbon dioxide geological storage and utilization survey,comprehensive geological survey of carbon dioxide geological storage in Junggar and other basins,which made a number of important achievements in regional potential assessment,demonstration project implementation and key technology research and development.

China Geology

Foreword The purpose of geology is tracing the past,exploring the future,supporting development and benefiting mankind.Especially since the Industrial Revolution,geology has played crucial roles in supporting the socio-economic development,studying the earth evolution and the human origins,and promoting the scientific and technological progress.Facing an era of worldwide changes,traditional modes of

An carbon neutrality industrial chain of“desert-photovoltaic power generationecological agriculture”:Practice from the Ulan Buh Desert,Dengkou,Inner Mongolia

Deserts,the sea of death,are the places where life ends.However,they will become a different scene if there is electricity in the deserts:vegetation will regenerate,crops will grow in rows,the sky will be blue and full of birds,and flowers will be fragrant.This is the scene of the Ulan Buh Desert in Dengkou County,Inner Mongolia,China.The local government's achievements and experience in sand control can be summarized into four items:(1)Photovoltaic power generation,saving coal resources;(2)Developing deserts:expanding land resources;(3)Finding uses for water flowing through deserts and below them;(4)Improve the environment and eliminate the poverty of the people in the sand area.

The introduction of traditional Chinese mineral medicine

Recently,the COVID-19 pandemic outbreaked and raged across the world,threatening the safety of human life worldwide.Scientists from various countries are working hard to develop various medicines to stop the spread of the Novel coronavirus.Among them,experts on Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM)used Chinese medicines“Lianhua Qingwen Capsule”and“Clearing lung and expelling toxin soup”to fight against the virus and save the lives of infected people,which achieved very positive clinical observation results.In the above two medicines,there is one kind of mineral medicine-gypsum.

Foreword

The purpose of geology is tracing the past,exploring the future,supporting development and benefiting mankind.Especially since the Industrial Revolution,geology has played crucial roles in supporting the socio-economic development,studying the earth evolution and the human origins,and promoting the scientific and technological progress.

Exploring natural gas hydrates toward a carbon-neutral world

The energy revolution is the foundation and driving force for the progress of human civilization.The discovery and utilization of fossil energy,which has greatly increased labor productivity and transformed society from a civilization based on farming into an industrial civilization,is a global energy revolution.Over the past two centuries,industrial civilization has brought about substantial progress but has also caused increasingly severe environmental and climate problems.Given these issues,governments around the world have successively formulated specific indices and deadlines for peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality.