Qiuzhen Yin, editor of CP, is the 2019 recipient of the Sir Nicholas Shackleton Medal of INQUA. INQUA, the International Union for Quaternary Research, established this medal in recognition of the many contributions of Nick Shackleton, a giant in the field of Quaternary science. The medal is awarded once every four years to an outstanding young Quaternary scientist, chosen by his or her peers and evaluated by a blue-ribbon committee of distinguished scientists. A previous recipient of the medal is Amaelle Landais, another CP editor! It is a real pleasure to congratulate Qiuzhen for such recognition and we are proud to collaborate with her on the editorial board of CP.

The INQUA Distinguished Service Medal is awarded to individuals with a recognized record of sustained and outstanding contributions to the maintenance or development of INQUA's important functions (e.g. organization, operations, outputs, publicity). Marie-France has been a prominent actor in INQUA at both union and national level. Such recognition is well deserved and we are proud to have such a colleague and friend on the CP editorial board.

Valérie Masson-Delmotte stepped down from being a CP editor because of her IPCC duties as co-leader of the Working Group 1. The medal is given to scientists with national and international recognition. She is receiving this award for her outstanding contribution to climate studies. A very active and efficient CP editor, we are proud to have had Valerie as a CP editor since the launch of the journal and we congratulate her for such an important achievement.

Ed Brook has been an editor of CP since the launch of the journal. He is receiving the medal for producing greenhouse-gas records from polar ice cores in unprecedented resolution, which permitted the precise north–south synchronization of climate signals and the identification of past variations in great detail. A visionary and key leader of the US and international ice-core community, we are proud to count such an astonishing colleague among CP editorial board.