Strategy of Young Talent in Geological Fundamental Studies in China

To meet the requirements of Earth System Science (ESS) development in China, a state-of-the-art study has been carried out. The average age, academic degree and discipline distribution of geologists, and issues related to geoscience education have been statistically studied, based on reclaimed questionnaires from over 40 universities, 8 research institutes of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 147 persons who have been funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) as outstanding young scientists, and 407 project principals of NSFC youth fund projects. In China, 4 418 people are now engaged in the basic research of geosciences, with peak ages between 41 and 45 years. The number sharply decreases for geologists younger than 40 years. The ratio of the number of Ph D graduates in geology over the total number of Ph D graduates in China decreased from 8. 76% in 1993 to 4.7% in 2003. If the decline in the number of young geologists remains unchanged, the human resource in fundamental geological research would be not enough to meet the needs of the development of ESS and the progress of economy and society. In order to achieve the strategic goal for China to develop faster in geoscience studies, strategic measures are proposed on how to improve funding, the training and evaluation system and the socialacademic environment for young geologists.