Professor Moriaki Yasuhara Awarded the Best Paper Award by the Palaeontological Society of Japan

The School of Energy and Environment (SEE) is pleased to announce that Prof. Moriaki Yasuhara and postdoctoral researchers Dr. He Wang, the lead author, and Dr. Pedro Jimenez from his lab have received the Best Paper Award from the Palaeontological Society of Japan. The award was presented at the Society's 2026 Annual Meeting, held from June 26 to June 28, 2026, at Osaka Metropolitan University.

The award-winning paper investigates how the westerlies, a major atmospheric circulation system playing a crucial role in middle-latitude climate, influence biota in arid Central Asia (ACA). Titled "A westerly-dominated climate in Arid Central Asia during the Holocene revealed by ostracods from Bosten Lake in Xinjiang, China," the study was published in Paleontological Research (Vol. 29, pp. 169–181).

By analyzing Holocene ostracods and radiocarbon dating results from a core in Bosten Lake (Xinjiang), the largest inland freshwater lake in China, the research team demonstrated that alternative ostracod assemblages serve as reliable indicators of lake salinity changes over the past 8,000 years. The findings suggest that regional precipitation patterns were driven by intensified westerlies linked to high sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic, yielding critical insights into environmental shifts and biological responses in arid Central Asia.

Congratulations to Prof. Yasuhara and the entire team for this outstanding achievement!

To read the full publication, please visit: https://doi.org/10.2517/prpsj.240030.