Ice core library opens at Concordia station in Antarctica

The first ice core library opened on 14 January 2026 at Concordia station in Antarctica to store rescued glacier samples at about −50°C for long-term scientific study.

The Concordia station in Antarctica inaugurated the first dedicated ice core library on 14 January 2026. The underground archive is maintained at about −50°C and is intended to keep endangered ice cores safe without mechanical refrigeration. The Ice Memory Foundation, together with the University of Grenoble Alpes and Ca' Foscari University of Venice, initiated the project. The effort responds to ongoing glacier loss on multiple continents and aims to preserve materials for future scientific study. Key details: - Opening date and place: 14 January 2026 at Concordia station, Antarctica. - Storage environment: an underground archive kept near −50°C. - Source regions mentioned: Andes, Svalbard, the Alps, the Caucasus, and the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan. - Donation example: Tajikistan donated a 105-metre ice core from the Kon Chukurbashi ice cap for preservation. - Project leadership: the Ice Memory Foundation leads the initiative; Thomas Stocker, former IPCC Science co-chair, is president of the foundation. - Context on glacier loss: a recent Nature analysis reported that annual glacier loss is expected to increase until around 2040 before declining as glaciers disappear. Summary: The archive will hold ice cores so future researchers can analyse past atmospheric composition, biological traces and deposited particles that record environmental conditions. Project organisers present the site as an international scientific resource responding to accelerating glacier loss. Donations and transfers of cores to the repository have begun, and wider participation from glacier nations was reported as encouraged. Undetermined at this time.