Antarctica just got the world's 1st ice core sanctuary
A new ice core sanctuary has opened at Concordia Station in Antarctica, thanks to the Ice Memory Foundation.
It's basically a giant natural freezer—9 meters deep and an annual mean of about -50°C—built right into the ice, no construction materials, foundations or mechanical refrigeration.
The goal? To save precious climate data for future generations.
Epic journey: Ice from Mont Blanc and Grand Combin arrives
Ice cores collected from Mont Blanc in France and Grand Combin in Switzerland (collected in recent years) have made it all the way to Antarctica.
These frozen time capsules traveled across the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Southern Ocean, kept at -20°C aboard the Italian research icebreaker RV Laura Bassi, and were transported to Antarctica for long-term storage (arrival date not stated).
Why does this matter?
This sanctuary protects trapped air, dust, and pollutants inside the ice—basically snapshots of Earth's past atmosphere.
Scientists hope future tech will unlock even more secrets from these samples.
Supported by international agreements and funded by Prince Albert II Foundation, it's a backup plan for climate science if things go wrong elsewhere.