The storage facility is located at the Concordia Research Station (France–Italy) at an altitude of 3,200 meters in the heart of Antarctica. It preserves ice cores under naturally cold conditions of –52°C, without the need for artificial refrigeration. The facility is essentially a cavern measuring 35 meters in length, 5 meters in height, and 5 meters in width, excavated about 10 meters beneath thick layers of snow.

The project took nearly a decade to prepare and posed significant logistical and diplomatic challenges. Beyond environmental considerations, the unique location is also intended to ensure neutrality and prevent political interference. The storage site lies within territory governed by an international treaty, and future access will be granted solely on the basis of scientific value.

The first samples stored at the new facility are two ice cores extracted from the summits of Mont Blanc and Grand Combin in the European Alps. In the coming decades, scientists plan to add ice samples collected from high-mountain glaciers such as those in the Andes, the Himalayas, and Tajikistan.

Gradually compacted over time, ice cores contain dust and various climate indicators that allow future scientists to decode the secrets of glaciers long after they have melted. The layers within the cores reveal valuable information about climate conditions thousands of years ago. Clear ice layers indicate warming periods when glaciers melted and refroze. Low-density layers represent compacted snow, helping estimate snowfall levels. Brittle samples with many cracks suggest snow fell on partially melted ice that later refroze.

Other clues provide further insights. For example, volcanic materials such as sulfate ions serve as time markers, while water isotopes help determine past temperatures.

According to climate scientist Carlo Barbante, Vice President of the Ice Memory Foundation, which initiated the project, the true value of ice cores lies in the future. “Scientists will use technologies that we cannot even imagine today to extract secrets from the ice that we are currently unable to see,” he said.

Scientists warn that in the coming decades, thousands of glaciers will disappear each year due to global warming. “We are racing against time to save this heritage before it vanishes forever,” Barbante emphasized.

On January 14, climate monitoring agencies in the United States and Europe confirmed that 2025 was the third-hottest year on record, continuing a streak of unusually warm years largely driven by human fossil fuel consumption.

Thu Thảo (Theo AFP, CBC)