HEFEI, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Russian institutes will further strengthen cooperation in the research of atmospheric optics and plan to build a research center in east China's Anhui Province.

The Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics of Chinese Academy of Sciences and the V.E. Zuev Institute of Atmospheric Optics of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science signed an agreement on May 30 to build a closer tie between the two institutes.

Cooperation between the two institutes started in the 1980s, which have jointly built up research teams, published high-quality papers and cultivated many young scientific talents over the past 30 years.

According to the latest agreement, the two sides will promote in-depth cooperation in the research and development of lidar atmospheric detection and the construction of major scientific infrastructure.

The two sides also planned to establish the China-Russia Research Center for Atmospheric Optics, focusing on environmental and meteorological science, and set up a full-height lidar atmospheric detection platform with an independent large-telescope in Hefei, capital of Anhui.

They plan to build up super observatories of atmospheric optics in Siberia in Russia and areas between the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Huai River in China, to study major issues in the fields of meteorology and environmental protection.

"As an important part of atmospheric optics research, lidar is a key means for atmospheric composition, winds and clouds detection. It is of great significance for smog control, weather forecasting and research on global climate change to build a lidar platform," said Wang Yingjian, an official with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.