On the afternoon of October 15, 2022, at the invitation of Professor Mou Cuicui and Associate Professor Lu Xia from the College of Earth and Environmental Sciences of Lanzhou University, Associate Researcher Zhang Yulan from the Northwest Institute of Ecological and Environmental Resources of the Chinese Academy of Sciences taught a course on "Global Cycles of Persistent Pollutants" to our 2022 class of doctoral students majoring in resources and environment. The main topic of the course was microplastic pollution and its impact on the cryosphere region.

In the class, based on her long-term research experience, Associate Researcher Zhang Yulan systematically explained the definition and characteristics of microplastics, the sources, transmission pathways, global cycling processes and hazards to the ecosystem, the identification, and analysis methods of microplastics, and introduced the latest progress and importance of microplastics research in the cryosphere to the students. In the end, students reflected on the course content and asked questions, and Associate Researcher Zhang Yulan patiently gave detailed answers to the student’s questions.

Expert Introduction:

Zhang Yulan is an Associate Researcher at the Northwest Institute of Ecological and Environmental Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences. She is mainly engaged in research on the chemistry and environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau cryosphere and has participated in many scientific expeditions to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Arctic region. She has hosted three National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) projects and undertaken major scientific and technological projects such as the Strategic Pioneer Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Second Integrated Scientific Expedition on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Currently, she has published more than 100 papers with an H-index of 27. She has published more than 30 SCI papers in international journals such as Earth-Science Reviews, Earth System Science Data, and Journal of Geophysical Research, etc. as first author and corresponding author, and participated in writing four monographs. She is a member of the Youth Committee of the Chinese Society of Cryosphere Science (CSCS) (Preparation) and a member of the Youth Editorial Board of Glacial Permafrost. He has received the Shi Yafeng Young Scientist Award for Cryosphere and Environment, the Western Light Young Scholar Award of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Long Yuan Young Talent Award, and the Long Yuan Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Team.