On February 24th, the International Glaciological Society (IGS) announced the winners of the 2023 Seligman Crystal Award. CAS Member YAO Tandong was awarded the Seligman Crystal, the highest honor in the field of glaciology, for his groundbreaking contributions in glaciology, climatology, and environmental change on the Tibetan Plateau. The award also recognizes YAO's international leadership in climate change and ice core research. This is the first time a Chinese scientist has received this prestigious award in the 60-year history of the Seligman Crystal.  

CAS Member YAO Tandong has long been engaged in Third Pole Environment and Earth System Science research, making systematic and outstanding contributions in the field of Chinese mountain ice core and glacier change studies. His research has revealed that the interaction between the westerlies and monsoons is the primary driving force behind regional differences in environmental change on the Tibetan Plateau. The report "Scientific Assessment of Environmental Changes on the Tibetan Plateau," which he organized and co-authored, provided important scientific basis for the ecological barrier construction plan for the Tibet Autonomous Region from 2015 to 2030. His research output includes over 300 academic papers published in prestigious international journals such as Nature, Science, and PNAS. In the field of international research on the Tibetan Plateau, he ranks first in terms of the total number of papers and total citation rate. 

The IGS was founded in 1936 with the aim of providing a focal point for individuals interested in the practice and science of snow and ice. The Seligman Crystal Award was established by the IGS in 1962 to recognize scholars who have made outstanding scientific contributions in the field of glaciology. Nominees for the award should have made enduring impacts on the understanding, direction, or focus of glaciological discipline, including pioneering new areas or fundamentally changing the way certain fields are approached. It also includes the generation of a substantial body of highly influential world-leading achievements. (Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, CAS)