The massive Tibetan Plateau, located at the intersection of South, Central, and East Asia, is often considered the "Third Pole of the Earth." The plateau, a land of large glaciers, permafrost, and heavy snow, feeds an extensive network of rivers, including major waterways such as the Ganges, Indus, Mekong, Yangtze, and Yellow. These rivers, which together form Asia's "water tower," provide water for nearly 40% of the world's population. The Tibetan Plateau also plays a significant role in the global climate system by influencing atmospheric circulation and driving weather patterns like the Asian summer monsoon around the planet. And in turn, climate fundamentally affects the plateau. The projected warmer and wetter climate will affect glaciers in the region, snow cover , permafrost, water runoff, and vegetation, which will affect ecosystems locally and globally. (Aaron Sidder, Eos)