In early 2009, ScienceDaily reported the research by Prof. Tandong Yao and his colleagues, and called their study of interactions between bacteria abundance and paleo-climate change on the Tibetan Plateau 'the first of its kind...for ecological studies.' To get the full report, please click into the following link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081231131813.htm

Near the end of the year, study of black carbon in ice cores retrieved from the Tibetan ice cores gained publication in Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, and was later highlighted by ScienceDaily at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091214173658.htm.

Climate and environmental change on the Tibetan Plateau with warming climate has gained wide concern so far, and the efforts to delve into the mystery of the plateau ecology and geology are attracting more scientists, both at home and abroad, to approach the research of the plateau with the same tenacity, resilience, and determination that harsh conditions require of existence.