Scientists from Italy, France, and Norway have set up camp in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago to extract samples of ancient ice for analysis before the frozen layers melt away due to climate change.

‘Ice Memory’ Project

• Scientists will drill a series of tubes as far as 125 meters (137 yards) below the surface, which contains frozen geochemical traces dating back three centuries.
• The scientists will work for three weeks in temperatures as low as -25 degrees Celsius (-13 Fahrenheit) to extract ice.
• The Ice Memory foundation is running the operation.
• The ice cores will provide scientists with valuable data about past environmental conditions.

Analysis and storage

• One set of ice tubes will be used for immediate analysis, while a second set will be sent to Antarctica for storage in an “ice memory sanctuary” under the snow.
• The samples will be preserved for future generations of scientists.

Reason for drilling

• The Arctic is warming between two and four times faster than the global average, and water from melting ice is altering the geochemical records preserved in ancient ice beneath.
• Hence, scientists are in a race against time to preserve crucial ice records before it disappears forever from the surface of the planet.

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