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sand well
there are many large pit mines in Inner Mongolia, but these smaller operations are common as well. they use the pump to bring sand up with the water. make a big pile, let it dry, and haul it away. when the pumping slows, pick up and move to the next spot.
the workers here said they had to drill down about 6m to hit the wet sand. perhaps not the best long-term strategy in a region where the water table is already sinking rapidly due to intense irrigation. it seems most of the strategies here for making a living off the land also degrade it. there are not many sustainable options in such a fragile, arid system.
I am a biologist.
You can find me in the center of the venn diagram where ecology, conservation and restoration intersect with the socio-economic realities that shape how we interact with & impact the ecosystems around us.
My dissertation research examines the process of desertification. The bulk of this work occurs in the American southwest, but I also spent the summer of 2009 in northern China to learn about desertification in Inner Mongolia. I am funded by the following grants & fellowships:
-National Science Foundation's East Asia Pacific Summer Institute, which seeks to promote international research collaborations between American graduate students and scientists in Asia.
-American Philosophical Society's Lewis & Clark Fund for Exploration
-Ariel Appleton Research Fellowship
-Appleton Whittell Research Ranch Apacheria Fellowship
-Sigma Xi
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