Ohio State University glaciologist Lonnie Thompson and climatologist Ellen Mosley-Thompson in May traveled to Jerusalem to receive the $1million Dan David Prize.

Dan David Prize winners Lonnie Thompson and Ellen Mosley-Thompson.

The team of Thompson and Mosley-Thompson, spouses, were recognized in the geosciences field for their separate and joint efforts studying geological and environmental records in ice cores on six continents and remote islands and for providing high-resolution environmental histories of issues dealing with melting of mountain glaciers and retreat and disintegration of polar icecaps.

The highly regarded Dan David Prize each year awards $1 million (US) to winners in each of three “time dimensions,” past, present, and future. Thompson and Mosley-Thompson will share the future award of $1 million with British geologist Geoffrey Eglinton of the University of Bristol. The 2008 winner in the 2008 “present” category is former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.

Commenting in a formal statement, Thompson said the prize “acknowledges the vitally important role that glacial records can play in our efforts to understand the dramatic climatic and environmental changes occurring around the world.” Mosley-Thompson, who teaches geography at Ohio State, called the award “a reflection of the progress that can be made through a steady sustained scientific approach to improving understanding and hopefully addressing the serious challenges that lie ahead.”