On February 24th, the International Glaciological Society (IGS) announced the results of the 2023 Seligman Crystal Award.
In recognition of the groundbreaking contributions made by Professor Yao Tandong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, doctoral supervisor at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), and honorary director of the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, in the fields of glaciology, climatology, and environmental change on the Tibetan Plateau, as well as his international leadership in climate change and ice core research, the IGS Award Committee decided to confer upon Yao Tandong the highest honor in the glaciology community—the Seligman Crystal Medal.
This marks the first time in the 60-year history of the award that a Chinese scientist has been recognized.
Yao Tandong
Yao Tandong and the scientific expedition team are studying ice core samples. (Image provided by the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences)
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau boasts the most unique geological and geographical resources on Earth, often referred to as a "natural laboratory" by the scientific community. Exploring the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and understanding the majestic Mount Everest are of significant importance in revealing mechanisms of environmental change and promoting global ecological conservation. Yao Tandong's research career is closely intertwined with the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. For decades, he has surveyed various glaciers across the plateau, firmly believing, "Exploring the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a monumental task. Scientists never cease to uncover unknown mysteries."
In 2017, the second comprehensive scientific expedition to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was launched in Lhasa. Over the years, the expedition team has mobilized domestic scientific research forces, organized ten major tasks spanning different departments and fields, and carried out comprehensive scientific research projects covering more than ten key areas across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Asian water tower, the Himalayas, the Hengduan Mountains, the Qilian Mountains-Alxa Mountains, and the Tianshan-Pamir regions.
Since its inception, the expedition team has aimed at international frontiers and national strategies, conducting interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, and inter-regional collaborative research, focusing on key areas, expanding the breadth and depth of scientific research and field surveys, and filling important strategic gaps in various regions.
In May 2022, expedition team members initiated a "summit push" to the top of the world, marking the first successful ascent above 8,000 meters on Mount Everest by Chinese researchers. Among them, Yao Tandong led the expedition team to establish the world's highest automatic meteorological observation station at an altitude exceeding 8,800 meters on Mount Everest.
In 2023, the "People's Republic of China Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law" was promulgated and implemented. The formulation and enactment of this law are a culmination of decades of research by the expedition team on the ecological system and ecological security issues of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The second Qinghai-Tibet Expedition played a crucial role in providing strong technological support for the formulation of this law. Suggestions made by Yao Tandong on strengthening glacier change monitoring, glacier disaster monitoring and early warning, and promoting integrated protection and restoration of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, sands, and glaciers were all adopted in the "Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law (Draft Proposal)."
The question of how to utilize high technology to achieve high-quality development and drive new breakthroughs in the entire Earth system science is continuously pondered by Yao Tandong and team members. "In the second Qinghai-Tibet Expedition, a new generation is growing. I believe they will carry on the past and forge ahead, making greater innovations and contributions to the research and protection of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau," Yao Tandong remarked.
