Introduction to Cryospheric Science

Dr. Dahe Qin is academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Third World Academy of Sciences. He graduated from the Department of Geography of Lanzhou University in 1970. From then on, he engaged to cryosphere science and climate change studies. He has published over 300 papers and books. He systematically studied the physical processes within the Antarctic ice sheet surface snow and the records of climate and environment. He set up the State Key Laboratory on Cryospheric Science in China. He advocated the concept of cryosphere science and built the framework of cryospheric science from the aspect of interaction between cryosphere and other spheres and the adaptive strategies of cryospheric changes. He involved the third and leaded the fourth and fifth IPCC scientific assessments, particularly the physical science basis of climate change, which made great contributions to a deeper sight into climate change science. As the administrator of China Meteorology Administration,he hosted the Strategy of Chinese Meteorological Service and Development, putting forward the three strategies: public, security, and resources-oriented meteorology. He is the pioneer in opening the door of science data sharing in China. IPCC undertaking he involved gain him a 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, and he got the International Meteorological Organization Prize, elected honorary member of American Meteorological Society (AMS), Best Paper Award granted by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of USA, and 2013 Volvo Environmental Prize.

• Cryosphere and Cryospheric Science.- Classification and geographical distribution of cryosphere.- Formation and development of cryosphere.- Physical properties of the cryosphere.- Chemical characteristics of the cryosphere.- Climatic and environmental record in cryosphere.- Cryospheric evolutions at different time-scales.- Interactions between cryosphere and other spheres.- Cryospheric changes and sustainable development.- Cryosphere model and cryosphere change projection.- Field observations and experiments for cryospheric science.