RSS feed source: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

The Tibetan Plateau’s glaciers are among the world’s most remote and untouched places. Researchers say these ice fields provide water for millions of people and play a vital environmental role.

Now, geoscientists funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation have tracked pollution in the form of lead in the glaciers. The findings are reported in the journal Nature Communications Earth and Environment.

The Tibetan Plateau is often called the “Roof of the World.” It’s the highest and largest plateau on Earth. In a study of the Guliya Ice Cap there, Franco Marcantonio of Texas A&M University and his colleagues discovered that significant lead pollution of the ice cap began in 1974, with the highest levels between 2000 and 2007.

The team measured lead isotopes in samples dating to 36,000 years ago. The ice serves as a historical record, giving scientists a way of comparing levels of modern lead contamination to those of pre-industrial times.

“Even though Pb [lead] has been used by ancient civilizations for millennia, it was not until the Industrial Revolution and later, when leaded gasoline was introduced … in the 1920s, that the emission of Pb from human activities skyrocketed,” state the scientists in their paper. “By the 1980s, emissions surpassed their natural and pre-industrial contribution by about two orders of magnitude.”

The Tibetan Plateau “is considered to be a pristine place due to the

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RSS feed source: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

The U.S. National Science Foundation, in collaboration with Every Page Foundation (EPF), is excited to announce 22 women science leaders as the 2024 NSF-EPF Ocean Decade Champions. 

Each champion is associated with a project funded by the NSF Coastlines and People (NSF CoPe) program and receives a monetary award to support leadership activities, networking opportunities, technical and communications training and cross-disciplinary and intercultural scientific endeavors. 

NSF CoPe is endorsed by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, also known as the Ocean Decade, which aims to promote ocean health and ensure any development efforts are sustainable and informed by science. The initiative’s 10 Decade Challenges include a fair representation of women and other underrepresented groups in ocean science and decision-making.  

The champions contribute to CoPe projects focused on coastline and community research that integrates natural and social processes and creates new or adapts existing technologies to bolster coastal resilience. The champions excel in their research and prioritize mentoring others and positively impacting society.  

NSF and EPF, along with support from Panorama Global, contributed over half a million dollars to support the careers of these leading women. Each awardee received support ranging from $20,000 to $50,000.  

The 2024 NSF-EPF Ocean Decade Champions 

Lynette Adams 
Black in Marine Science 
NSF Award Number: 2209284 
Lynnette Adams is a director of development leading initiatives that bridge science, community and advocacy while centering

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