Yellow sand is raging here, with no vegetation or streams. There are huge holes hidden under the soft sand. At a glance, it is still yellow sand after removing the yellow sand. Only the maze-like Yadan landform can give people a sense of wonder. Visual enjoyment. This is the devil's zone on the Asian continent, and countless people who tried to pry into its secrets died inside.

This is the "Sea of ??Death" Lop Nur.

More than ten years ago, Lop Nur shrank, leaving only a large salt-crust landform with no vegetation. It was called a forbidden area of ??life, a sea of ??death, a no-man's land, China's Bermuda, etc.

However, according to authoritative biodiversity survey data, there are 78 species of vertebrates from 30 families distributed in Lop Nur, including argali, ibex, wild Bactrian camel, wild ass, goose-throated antelope, snow leopard, brown bear, etc. etc.; 74 species of plants in 18 subjects, including Populus euphratica, Tamarix japonica, Shaguai Zao, Haloxylon ammodendron, Cistanche deserticola, etc.

Especially the wild camels in Lop Nur, whose scientific name is wild Bactrian camels, are more precious than giant pandas. There are now less than 1,000 wild camels left in the world, and there are about 300 in my country. The running speed of wild camels can reach up to 40 kilometers per hour. Their sense of smell can even throw professionally trained police dogs across several streets, and they can sense danger from several kilometers away.

It is precisely because of wild camels’ keen sense of smell and outstanding running speed that they are difficult to detect by humans. It was not until 2001 that the Chinese scientific expedition team photographed the first wild camel in its natural state in human history. photos.

This article is not here to introduce you to wild camels. In this article, we are going to learn about another precious resource in Lop Nur - potassium salt.

Lop Nur, which once played an important role in history and exuded great light, has dried up with the cessation of Kongque River and Tarim River, leaving only a layer of salt crust and endless Gobi. People also Started to forget about it.

Speaking of Lop Nur, I believe that many Chinese people first knew its name in the 1960s, when our country exploded the first atomic bomb here. Such news shocked the whole world. Lop Nur Then it became known to the world. A few years later, the President of the United States visited China and brought a satellite picture, and the name of Lop Nur's "Big Ears" became known to the world.

But Lop Nur is really well-known in China because in 1980, my country's famous scientist Peng Jiamu went deep into Lop Nur to investigate the bizarre disappearances.

So, why did Peng Jiamu enter Lop Nur, which is barren and known as the "Sea of ??Death"? Some people say that Peng Jiamu came to Lop Nur for exploration, some said that Peng Jiamu came to find treasures, and there are also unreliable legends such as "Pisces Pendants" and "Aliens". In fact, Peng Jiamu entered Lop Nur in search of potassium salt. , he can be regarded as the first generation of people looking for potassium salt in New China.

What is potassium salt? Potassium salt is the general name for potassium-containing minerals. According to their solubility, they can be divided into potassium salt minerals with good solubility and insoluble potassium-containing aluminum silicate minerals.

So, what is the use of potassium salt? The author would like to say that the uses of potassium salt are quite large and are widely used in industry and agriculture. 95% of potassium salt products are used as fertilizers in agriculture and 5% are used in industrial manufacturing. Potassium fertilizer is mainly divided into potassium chloride and potassium sulfate, which is one of the three indispensable fertilizers in agriculture. Potassium chloride is used in large quantities and is suitable for food crops such as rice, wheat, corn, etc.; as for cash crops such as hemp, tobacco leaves, sugar cane, grapes, sugar beets, tea, etc., potassium sulfate is needed.

Why is there potassium salt in Lop Nur? Lop Nur was once the second largest saltwater lake in my country (after Qinghai Lake). In the early years, the sediment and minerals brought by the Tarim River and Kongque River gathered in Lop Nur. As Lop Nur continued to shrink, in 1972, Lop Nur finally dried up. After drying up, Lop Nur contains huge reserves of potash salt. According to data, there are 250 million tons of potash salt in the northern part of Lop Nur alone, which can be used by people all over the world for hundreds of years.

So, why do we have to find potassium salt? Due to long-term fertilization of cultivated land in my country, the potassium element in the soil is deficient. my country is currently one of the most serious areas of potassium deficiency in the world. Especially in coastal areas with developed agriculture, the potassium content in the soil decreases very quickly. Potassium deficiency in the soil causes premature aging of crops, reduced disease resistance, lodging resistance, cold resistance, and drought resistance. Problems such as poor quality of agricultural products and reduced yields are becoming increasingly serious. .

If my country’s agricultural development wants to reach a new level, it must immediately and non-stop solve the problem of “how to develop potash resources, increase potash varieties and supply, how to scientifically apply potassium fertilizer, and what is the potassium replenishment project for my country’s cultivated land?” "Carry out" and other problems, the core of solving these problems is of course to find potassium salt.

However, my country is severely lacking in potash mineral resources and potash fertilizer products. More than 70% of potassium fertilizers are imported. The country needs to spend huge amounts of foreign exchange every year to import large amounts of potash fertilizers from abroad. We have to give as much as others say.

negotiation? I won’t sell you any more, let’s see what you do!

It is for this reason that my country has listed potassium salt as a national priority urgently needed mineral.

Why go to a dangerous place like Lop Nur to find potassium salt? Haven't you already discovered Qarhan Salt Lake? In fact, there are differences between potassium salts. my country has huge reserves of potassium salts, but its reserves of soluble potassium salts are not large. It is still difficult to meet the agricultural demand for potassium fertilizers, and there is an urgent need to develop new resources.

As for the Qalhan Salt Lake, its resources are solid and liquid deposits, and the potassium resources are mainly in the liquid phase. The most important thing is that the resource reserves of Qalhan are affected by many factors such as sunshine, The influence of temperature, precipitation, etc. directly affects the mining volume, and the single product development model of Qarhan Salt Lake results in a low level of comprehensive utilization of resources and serious waste of resources.

Since the first generation of potash salt people discovered Qarhan Salt Lake in the 1950s, for nearly half a century, there has been no new development in the search for potash salt mines in the country. The potash gap in China is getting bigger and bigger, which is why Peng Jiamu went deep into Lop Nur.

The country attaches great importance to potassium salt, and the history of searching for potassium salt is quite long.

The first generation of potash salt people - in 1957, with the care and participation of the Chinese government and the older generation of salt mine experts, the Chaerhan Salt Mine in the Qaidam Basin was discovered; in 1961 Team 16 of the Yunnan Provincial Bureau of Geology and teachers and students of the Beijing Institute of Geology (now China University of Geosciences), based on clues from the common people, discovered my country's first medium-sized potash deposit in the Simao area of ??Yunnan; in 1972, the geological department discovered the first medium-sized potash deposit in Hubei Province. High-temperature potassium-rich brine was discovered in Jiang City.

The second generation of potassium salt people - a 1979 book "Salt Minerals" co-authored by Qu Yihua, Qian Ziqiang, and Han Weitian and published by the Chemical Industry Press, which brought together more than 150 kinds of salt minerals. "Identification Manual" was well received by geological experts at home and abroad as soon as it was published, and it is still widely circulated and used today.

This "Salt Mineral Identification Manual" is the first systematic salt mineral identification manual in my country and the world, and is very popular among geologists. In 1984, Xining City, Qinghai Province held a new mobilization meeting for potassium search - the National Academic Symposium on Salt Deposition.

Peng Jiamu belongs to the first generation of potash people in my country. From 1964 to 1980, Peng Jiamu came to northwest China for scientific inspections 15 times, and entered the Lop Nur area three times. Especially during the third Lop Nur inspection, Peng Jiamu led the team to create many firsts:

< p> However, on June 17, 1980, Peng Jiamu left the camp in Lop Nur and walked alone into the depths of the desert in search of water. Unfortunately, he disappeared mysteriously.

The news of Peng Jiamu’s disappearance alarmed the central government. Subsequently, relevant state departments sent more than a dozen aircraft, dozens of cars, and thousands of people to search for each other, but found nothing...

Later, the state organized several large-scale searches for Peng Jiamu, but all ended in failure, and Peng Jiamu's disappearance became an unsolved mystery. Regarding the mysterious disappearance of Peng Jiamu in Lop Nur, there is a lot of information on the Internet, so I will not go into details here.

In short, Peng Jiamu’s mysterious disappearance gave Lop Nur a color of terror, mystery, and death penalty area, making people shy away from Lop Nur. However, just 16 years after Peng Jiamu’s mysterious disappearance, in 1996, there was a A female scientist once again set foot on this "forbidden zone of life". She is Professor Wang Mili.

Let’s find out what contributions the second generation of potash salt people, led by Professor Wang Mili, have made to mining Lop Nur potash salt?

Professor Wang Mili was born in a scholarly family. His mother came from a well-known family and went to university, and his father was a famous railway expert who had returned from studying abroad. Due to his father's special occupation, Wang Mili had to run along the western railway line with several other brothers and sisters under the leadership of his mother. The rugged northwest region Natural conditions made Wang Mili soft on the outside and strong on the inside.

In 1965, Wang Mili graduated from the Department of Geology and Geography of Peking University. He gave up his assigned job and went to the production department to practice: Daqing Oilfield, Hubei Jianghan Oilfield, and potassium salt mineralization in the Qaidam Basin. For these Occupation, Wang Mili has many treasures.

Before Wang Mili walked into Lop Nur, many people had explored Lop Nur: the aforementioned Mr. Peng Jiamu and Xia Xuncheng in the 1980s; the Xinjiang Bureau of Geology and Mineral Exploration Team; the Second Hydrological Team and the Third Geological Brigade; Mr. Zheng Mianping from the Institute of Resources, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences; and comrades from the Ruoqiang Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources.

Combining previous research and his own team’s years of practical experience in searching for potassium in the Qaidam Basin in Qinghai, Wang Mili believes that the Tarim Basin, like the Qaidam Basin, must also have brine. Judgment based on the geological structure:

Wang Mi fought against all opinions and, with the support of Chen Yuchuan and other experts, initiated a project application for the "Potassium Formation in Lop Nur Prospective Area" project.

At that time, the leadership of the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources did not support it, not only because Peng Jiamu had disappeared in Lop Nur, the safety of scientists could not be guaranteed and their lives were threatened when they went there, but more importantly, the ministry did not have much funding.

However, members of the research team such as Liu Chenglin, Jiao Pengcheng, Chen Yongzhi, Yang Zhichen, Li Tingqi, and Li Changhua still hope to get the project approved. For this reason, Wang Mili ignored the opposition of the leader and argued hard with the leader. In the end, the leader relented, approved the project, and allocated a sum of money to go to Lop Nur to find potassium salt.

In 1995, Wang Mili’s research team started raising supplies with a funding of 100,000 yuan. In order to make the most of the limited funds, Wang Mili and his partners in the research team used what is called searching: they bought a second-hand car that had been eliminated by other departments at a low price, and chose a cheap tent... There was nothing they could do about it. , personnel accommodation, food and water required to enter Lop Nur, plus experimental equipment, all rely on this 100,000 yuan.

In fact, before going to Lop Nur, Wang Mili had already prepared for the worst. After she settled her elderly mother, she went to Babaoshan Cemetery to pay homage to her father. Wang Mili knew that this trip was It was extremely dangerous. She did not tell her family that she was going to Lop Nur but to the northwest for inspection. In fact, her family knew that she was going to Lop Nur. It was just that the name "Lop Nur" was too unlucky and no one wanted to reveal it.

In 1996, she came to Lop Nur with her team and ideals. After entering Lop Nur, we encountered unprecedented difficulties. In Lop Nur, which is more than 20,000 square kilometers, there are no roads, no water sources, and only high temperatures, sandstorms, and getting lost. Such a harsh environment has swallowed up many scientists and explorers. In such a Even a man would be frightened by a place where birds don't poop, let alone a delicate woman.

In the vast desert, there is no direction or signboard, so we can only rely on the compass and GPS throughout the journey. In October 1997, after Wang Mili led the exploration team to enter Lop Nur from the north for the first time, they encountered a big storm. The research team lost their way and drove for a long time before walking four kilometers, circling in the desert the whole way.

According to the plan, the exploration team should reach the destination within 3 days, but now even the shadow of Lop Nur can’t be seen. What’s even worse is that supplies such as gasoline, drinking water, and food are not enough. Everyone They all set their sights on the "commander" this time - the only woman in the team.

After thinking calmly, Wang Mili came up with the method of "using people as positioning marks, standing every 100 meters" to guide the vehicle forward, and finally got out of the lost circle and reached the destination. If it weren't for the skills of this female scientist, I don't know if the team could have walked out of the sea of ??death (this year, it has been 17 years since Peng Jiamu disappeared).

It was under such difficult conditions that Wang Mili and her research team drilled more than 100 detection wells in the 1,500-square-kilometer Lop Nur depression.

When Wang Mili led the research team to dig a deep well in the Luobei Depression based on the migration model of high mountains and deep basins, everyone was excited about the crystal clear brine that spewed out. What’s even more exciting is yet to come:

In 10 years, Wang Mili went in and out of Lop Nur six times (there are also records of 10 times), just to better survey the Bubei Depression. After that, the country began to develop potassium salt in Lop Nur intensively, which greatly alleviated the country's potassium salt shortage. In 2000, Lop Nur Potash Technology Development Co., Ltd. was established. In 2004, the state invested 8 billion yuan to develop potash resources in the Luobei Depression.

As a geologist, Wang Mili is very proud that he was finally able to find potassium salt and help the country alleviate the severe shortage of potassium salt. As the first female geologist to enter and leave Lop Nur six times, Wang Mili's spirit of not being afraid of dangers and daring to challenge harsh environments is obvious to everyone.

What is even more commendable is that Professor Wang Mili is calm and calm in the face of various honors, has an open mind, does not go against the teachings of his father's generation, always serves scientific research to meet the needs of the country, and has devoted himself to the cause of geology for decades. She is not afraid of difficulties, pays attention to practice, is good at summarizing, has the courage to innovate, and climbs to the peak of science step by step; she respects her predecessors and peers, cares about the growth of younger generations, and has cultivated a group of outstanding young and middle-aged scientists.

Professor Wang Mili has been honest and upright throughout his life, rigorous in his scholarship, but he does not stick to conventions, is scientifically innovative, has unique insights, worries about the country's urgent needs, thinks about what the country wants, is firm and persistent in the potassium salt cause, and pursues the truth. She is a role model for others, tireless in teaching others, supporting young students, and has noble sentiments.

Her life is a life of pursuing the truth, a life of fighting for the geological cause and the development of the motherland. Wang Mili has become a "shining name". She composed the anthem for the 30th International Geological Congress. "Eternal cause" has encouraged the younger generation of geologists and inherited excellent work style and scientific spirit.

Thanks to the efforts of a generation of scientists such as Wang Mili, Lop Nur has now built the world's largest monomer potassium sulfate fertilizer production base. This has not only greatly alleviated the shortage of potassium fertilizer supply in my country, but also With the development of potassium salt in Lop Nur, the county where Lop Nur is located has taken off the label of a poor county.

On February 4, 2021, female scientist Wang Mili died in Beijing due to illness at the age of 80.

Pay tribute to the second generation of potassium salt people led by Professor Wang Mili!