The "Golden Spike" does not contain gold
The portion is no less than the Olympic gold medal
It records a unique geological history
It represents the comprehensive strength of a country's geological research
As of now
China has won 11 "golden nails"
Ranked second in the world
This is a story of repeated setbacks and latecomers
And its beginning
It took place at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
The international geological community before 1965
There has been a lack of a globally uniform and precisely defined chronostratigraphic system
With the advent of the "Golden Nail".
Stratigraphic age has a "caliper"
Scientists can follow a uniform time standard
Analyze and study the geological events that occur simultaneously in different regions
The establishment of each "golden nail" is extremely strict
Must be passed
The International Commission on Stratigraphy and the International Union of Geological Sciences voted to do so
China's first "golden nail"
Established in 1997
The International Commission on Stratigraphy has come up with this concept
More than 30 years have passed
It's long overdue
It's because
Western scholars once had a monopoly on international academic organizations
Academic rule-making and voting rights
The understanding of China's geoscience research has been blank for a long time
There is a natural bias against Chinese scholars
▲In 1998, the International Boundary Working Group participated in the unveiling ceremony of the "Golden Nail" of Daruiwei Order in Changshan County, Zhejiang. From left to right: Florentine Paris (France), Barry Webby (Australia), Chen Xu, and Zhang Yuandong. Courtesy of Nanjing Institute of Paleontology
A turning point in history
It fell on Chen Xu, a researcher at the Nanjing Institute of Paleontology
In 1991, the 6th International Ordovician Congress
He was elected Vice-President of the Ordovician Section of the International Commission on Stratigraphy
In the "golden nail" discussion of the meeting, which lasted several days
He and Richard Foti, chief scientist of Ordovician research in the UK
Narrow road encounter,-for-tat
The Ordovician was formed between 485 million and 444 million years ago
It is a critical period when marine life begins to diversify dramatically
However, the research on the "golden nail" of the Ordovician system has not made a breakthrough for a long time
Every "Golden Nail"
It includes two parts: point and section
Establishment of points
To represent a species with a wide geographical distribution
"First occurrence" in a particular sequence of rock formations is a sign
And this section that contains the point
The petrofacies must be single
The stratigraphic sequence is continuous and complete
Contains the richest possible and globally representative fossil taxa
for global stratigraphic comparison
The competition starts from both sides
In the PK of a "golden nail" in the middle Ordovician
What should I choose as a symbol species?
Foti's suggestion: a straight-knuckled pen stone based on a specimen of the British type
But Chen Xu retorted
The section containing this penstone is not globally representative
On the contrary, China proposed
Profile of the species marked by the Australian dentate wavy penid
Located in the "Three Mountains Area" of Zhejiang and Jiangxi
It has Chinese characteristics
It is also globally represented
The natural endowment is very good
Chen Xu firmly believes
Our advantages are clear
But the British team is quite strong
Attempt to define by determining boundaries
Drill down into new profiles and more
Build this "golden nail" in the UK
Even at the expense of violating international rules
Put the results of the study on the relevant sections
Preemptively published in international journals
Chen Xu, who was steady and steady, ignored it
He led the organization of an international boundaries working group
Justifiably exclude British specialists
Carefully study the possibility of candidate profiles for the "Three Mountains area".
Submit the study report to the Ordovician branch on time
And the British team violated the rules
It has also aroused dissatisfaction and doubts from the experts of the International Boundary Working Group
The scramble for the Ordovician "Golden Nail".
Began to lean towards China
In order to meet the research requirements of the "golden nail".
A systematic study of six candidate Ordovician profiles in the "Sanshan area" was carried out immediately
The section of Huangnitang in Changshan County, Zhejiang Province is the most optimistic
Early "Golden Nail" research
It mainly revolves around paleontology
Chen Xu took Zhang Yuandong, a doctoral student at the time
The section of the yellow mud pond is divided into more than 200 layers
Collect fossils of pen fossils and other fossil groups layer by layer
▲Panorama of the section of the Yellow Muddy Pond.
It's a lot of work in the field
Research funding is stretched thin
For more than 5 years
Zhang Yuandong leaned on a small bench and a scientific research hammer
Day after day in front of a gray profile
Layer after layer knocking search
In the summer, I was bitten by mosquitoes and covered in bags
In winter, the rain in the south drenched into the bones
Zhang Yuandong only cares about hard work
Fieldwork is just the basics
The lab is another "battleground"
Zhang Yuandong conducted a branching systematic study on the penstone taxa
The evolutionary sequence of the penstone taxa was precisely determined
And that's not all
He proposed a new classification system for penstone research
A set of computer graphics comparison methods has also been established
It solves the problem of high-precision division and comparison required by the "Golden Nail".
These new ideas benefited from Chen Xu's words and deeds:
Scientific research wants to be done for a long time and be excellent
You can't do without innovation
ultimately
Results of Ordovician stratigraphic profiles in Huangnitang
Conquered the International Boundaries Working Group
and was voted on by international academic organizations
Darry Well's "Golden Nail"
Formalized
This is a breakthrough of the mainland's "golden nail" zero
Later, even Richard Foti recognized this "golden nail"
It is the most prominent progress of the global Ordovician coefficient in a decade
▲ Dariwell order "golden nail" section.
This "golden nail" opens a door
Enter the 21st century
China's "golden nail" research is like a bamboo
Almost every 2 years, new "golden nails" are established
From learning from the West to international cooperation
From catching up to leading the world
Looking back on this extraordinary time of nearly half a century
Chen Xu, an 88-year-old academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said frankly
as an artificial international standard
The competition for the "golden nail" has never been just an academic competition
Chinese scientists must not be afraid of debate and bravely brave the international stage
Prove to the world what we're up to
Defend the dignity of the country!
Source: China Science News
Editor in charge: Cao Yang