(AGENPARL) – lun 03 aprile 2023 Like most glaciers, the Svalbard ice fields are retreating due to climate change,
constituting irretrievable loss. The impacts of global warming are being felt four times
faster in the Arctic Region than in other regions of the world. Because they contain
precious records on climatic and environmental history, glaciers represent a scientific
heritage and cultural legacy of central importance to humanity.
Cover © SHUTTERSTOCK
The expedition is funded by the
Italian Ministry of University and Research
through the PRA, the FISR programs and by the
Ice Memory Foundation.
Ice Memory Foundation
I Elodie Bernollin
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Enrico Costa



rfr
FOUNDERS
MAJOR DONORS
Glaciers, true history books
By trapping the dierent components of the
atmosphere, ice represents an invaluable source of
information for tracing our environmental past, for
providing an account of past climate change, and
especially for understanding our future.
Variations in temperature, atmospheric
concentrations of greenhouse gases, natural
aerosol emissions, pollutants produced by
humans…The science of ice cores can study the
dozens of chemical compounds that are trapped
in the ice: gases, acids, heavy metals, radioactivity,
and water isotopes form the memory of the
climates and environments of the past.
One can predict that in coming decades,
researchers will have new ideas and techniques to
give voice to these archives. For instance, they may
be able to isolate other information contained in
the ice of which we are not aware today.
This scientific information trapped in the ice —
synthesised and highlighted by the IPCC — is a
useful element in the crucial decisions of how to
shape international environmental and climate
policy.
Why preserve
the ice of Svalbard?
The reason and beauty of the Ice Memory initiative is not to produce added value in terms of
Carlo Barbante,
Vice Chairman of the Ice Memory Foundation,
Climate Scientist, Director of the Institute of Polar Sciences (CNR),
Professor Ca’Foscari University of Venice.
© spitsbergen-© Martin Fuchs Pixabay
Ice cores are exceptional climate archives,
as they record the direct parameters of
the atmosphere’s dynamics, physics, and
chemical composition. They also contain
a wealth of information on the evolution of
the Earth’s environment.
The Ice Memory Foundation is based on fundamental values that
The Ice Memory initiative aims to collect, save, and
manage ice cores from selected glaciers currently
in danger of degradation or disappearance, with a
view to preserving the information they contain for
decades and centuries to come.
Over the last few decades, glaciologists have
observed the eects of increased temperatures
on high-mountain glaciers, and the subsequent
loss of irreplaceable scientific data. The data
from both polar and non-polar ice is essential to
understanding the evolution of the climate and
environment in the past, as well as to anticipating
Faced with this alarming observation, the
glaciologists Jérome Chappellaz – CNRS and Patrick
Ginot – IRD (IGE/UGA-CNRS-IRD-G-INP) from France
and Carlo Barbante (CNR/Ca’Foscari Univ. of Venice)
from Italy decided to take action by launching the
Ice Memory initiative in 2015. Margit Schwikowski
(PSI) and scientists from over 10 nations joined them
in 2017.
UNESCO’s executive committee recognised
the importance of safeguarding this scientific
legacy via two decisions in 2017 and 2018, and
by encouraging nations to fully support the Ice
Memory initiative. This important step served as a
decisive chapter for our team.
In 2021, 7 major scientific institutions created the
International Ice Memory Foundation, located at
the University Grenoble Foundation: the CNRS, the
IRD, University Grenoble Alpes, and the French Polar
Institute (IPEV) in France; the National Research
Council (CNR) and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
in Italy; and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in
Switzerland.
The Ice Memory Foundation unites scientific and
institutional communities in an eort to create
an Antarctic sanctuary for heritage ice cores,
managed under international governance. Thanks
to this initiative, future generations of scientists will
therefore have access to high-quality ice cores to
pursue their research.
Dozens of ice cores sampled from around the
world will be stored for several centuries in the Ice
Memory Sanctuary in Antarctica. These heritage
cores should enjoy the status of a common
good of humanity, with sustainable international
governance ensuring their preservation, as well as
their exceptional and appropriate use in the future.
Safeguarding these ice cores will be key to fostering
scientific advances and knowledge that will
ultimately contribute to the well-being of humanity.
His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, who
is particularly committed to protecting and studying
the poles and glaciers, has agreed to serve as the
Honorary President of the Ice Memory Foundation.
The Foundation’s governance is international,
with members from France, Italy, Switzerland,
China, and the United States, including two former
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) Vice Presidents. The Foundation manages
the overall worldwide strategy, relations with
institutional and scientific partners, in addition to
the philanthropy program.
Protecting ice memory
The story of the Ice Memory Foundation
The increased frequency of periods or events
involving positive temperatures at high altitudes
(summer heat waves in the Alps, poweul El Niño
events in the Andes), will result, in coming years, in
the systematic percolation of meltwater through
the upper layers of snow on glacier suaces. This
phenomenon irremediably alters the chemical
composition of deep layers of snow, forever
destroying the potential of these archives to
reconstruct the history of geochemical signals
relating to the climate, human activity, and the
biological evolution of our environment.
If climate change continues at its current pace, all
of the world’s glaciers will continue to be altered
and to disappear. According to IPCC simulations,
the glaciers with peaks below 3,500 m in the Alps
and 5,400 m in the Andes will be gone by 2100. These
unique pages from the history of our environment
will disappear forever, with no possibility for future
generations to study them.
This is essential to promoting scientific advances
and knowledge by future generations of
researchers equipped with new technologies
and research concepts. The knowledge obtained
through the ice cores this initiative will continue
to guide policy decisions that will ultimately
contribute to the well-being of humanity.
The Ice Memory Foundation has brought the
international community of glaciologists together
in the eort to complete at least twenty core
drillings in 20 years from the planet’s glaciers. These
glaciers should:
demonstrate an urgency of preservation while
ensuring high-quality records,
provide significant and recognised scientific
results on the atmospheric composition,
environmental parameters,
and climate of the
past, as well as ensure optimal geographical and
temporal coverage for the region.
A race against time
to conserve high-quality data
Sampling 20 glaciers in 20 years:
the choice of the sites
ICE MEMORY









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The emblematic glaciers of
Svalbard Archipelago can still
provide the quality of ice that is
essential for paleoclimatic and
environmental studies of the
Arctic Region.
In other words, the history
of the North, its climate and
environmental activity is trapped
and preserved in the ice crystals
of Svalbard: a frozen library
containing 300 years of archives
on the most important and
fastest change on the Planet.
Arctic amplification: why is
the Arctic warming faster?
This is a race against time. Since
1979, the Arctic has warmed
nearly four times faster than the
rest of the world (1). A large part
of the explanation relates to
sea ice. The sea ice is covered
in a bright layer of snow which
reflects around 85 percent of
incoming solar radiation back
out to space. When covered with
sea ice, the Arctic Ocean acts
like a large reflective blanket,
reducing the absorption of
solar radiation. As the sea ice
melts, absorption rates increase,
resulting in a positive feedback
loop where the rapid pace of
ocean warming further amplifies
sea ice melt. This contributes to
even faster ocean warming, and
aects the global area, even the
This feedback loop is largely
responsible for what is known as
Arctic amplification, and is the
explanation for why the Arctic is
warming so much more than the
rest of the planet.
Holtedahlfonna:
monitoring
In Svalbard, several glaciers
are monitored to detect the
potential loss of mass. Mass
balance is the dierence
between glacier growth in winter
due to precipitation and glacier
reduction in summer due to
melting and runo. All glaciers
have had a reduction in mass
through the monitoring period
(since 1967).
The Arctic Ice
of Svalbard glaciers in 2023
An invaluable archive of one of
the Northernmost area where
the impacts of global warming
are going 4 times faster
Holtedahlfonna
site
is recognized as able to
provide significant and
unique spatial information
on a regional scale that
reflects changes in the
high north Atlantic. The
Holtedahlfonna ice core
site is also invaluable
when investigating the
variations in
extent over the past three
centuries.
Ny-Ålesund Station: the expedition
headquarters
The headquarter for this expedition is situated at
the “Dirigibile Italia”, the research station, one of
the multidisciplinary research stations managed by
the CNR, providing support to numerous national
and international research projects. The station,
inaugurated in 1997, is located in the village of Ny-
Ålesund (78°55’ N, 11°56’ E). It is named aer the General
Umberto Nobile who set o from the station in 1928,
for a polar expedition. Since July 2020, the station has
been managed by the Institute of Polar Sciences.
The base will physically house part of the team
dedicated to activities before, during, and aer
drilling. It will provide support to the entire team
for meeting preparations for field activities and
equipment preparation. It will also provide the
scientists with snowmobile and polar equipment
support.
The goals of the expedition
The goals of the mission are to extract two ice cores
covering the glacier’s full depth down to the bedrock,
approximately 125 m
. The samples consist of cylinders,
each measuring 105 mm in diameter and 1m in length
to facilitate transportation. Scheduled in April 2023, the
operation on the Holtedahlfonna icefield should last 4 to
5 weeks.
Destination of the two ices cores:
One is dedicated to contemporary analysis:
it will be
used to carry out geochemical analyses of reference
using current technology, to enable today’s scientific
community to highlight research in view of:
Determining the role of sea ice in Arctic
and its impact on the atmosphere,
particularly on the chemical processes of bromine
and mercury.
the data obtained with satellite
data on sea ice extent and snow accumulation
measurements.
Establishing the
possible provenance areas of the
tthrough atmospheric transport
Investigating the degradation (or not) of the climate
compared to a previous ice core drilled in
Reconstructing the history of microbial colonization
and evolution in relation to past climate.
The second is dedicated to long term conservation:
the second ice core will be preserved for future
centuries at the Ice Memory Sanctuary sheltered at
the French-Italian Concordia Station in Antarctica (see
page 11).
These two ice cores will allow scientists to study
300 years of climate and environmental History
in the North and Arctic Region (the last deep ice
core drilled in 2005 oered old data from 1694).
The Ice Memory
Svalbard Expedition
Mission logistics
© Martin Fuchs Pixabay

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In order to sample ice formed by the compression
of successive layers of snow year aer year, drilling
operations make a vertical cut using a core drill,
asteel tube attached to a power cable shaped
like a screw and equipped with cutting blades.
Thesteel tube, which is approximately 1.50 cm long,
is driven into the ice by its rotational functionality.
Once it is completely driven in – and thus filled
with ice – glaciologists extract the tube, which
now contains an ice cylinder known as an ice core,
measuring approximately 0.5 meter in length and
10cm in diameter. They then repeat the process in
the borehole.
Each core is placed in a protective cover that is
numbered and marked with its location and depth
of extraction, as well as its top and bottom end.
They are then carefully stored in isothermal storage
boxes while awaiting transport in a refrigerated
container. The cold chain that must be maintained
from the drilling site to storage is particularly
sensitive, and represents a crucial element in such
an ice core drilling operation.
Drilling technique
The journey towards the
Ice Memory Sanctuary in Antarctica
A challenge in cold chain logistics
Aer each drilling operation, it is crucial for
the ice samples to remain frozen while being
transported and shipped in containers. At
first, they will be transported in dedicated
tubes by snowmobiles from the icefield to the
headquarters at the Ny-Ålesund station.
Then, the 2 ice cores will then be placed in
isothermal boxes and transported in refrigerated
containers (-20°) equipped with an independent
generator for maritime shipping from Svalbard
to Europe.
Afew months aer the expedition ends, the
cores will be shipped by boat to Brest (France),
then the journey will continue towards Grenoble
(France) and, finally, the Institute of Polar
Sciences facilities near Venice (Italy) with the
French Polar Institute logistics.
Thefinal destination of one of the ice cores will
Antarctica, in the Ice Memory Sanctuary
The remaining ice core will be analyzed in the
framework of the
Sentinel
project’s objectives.
© ICR3326
Even though Svalbard is easy to reach
nowadays and the icefield is quite
accessible, the expedition team will face
a number of dangers, risks and rough
Working conditions in the Arctic environment
The Svalbard region, located at 79°N latitude, is
characterized by minimum winter temperatures
between -20° and -25°C. During the drilling operation,
the temperatures may fluctuate between -25°C and –
5°C. Even with these important variations, most of the
areas in which the Team will be moving have a very
low avalanche risk.
Reaching the drilling site
Crevasses and water channels are dangers to be
reckoned with for anyone traveling on glaciers tracks
or routes. At the end of the melt season, Norwegian
Polar Institute scientists examined the condition
of the glaciers from a helicopter. In addition, they
acquired several satellite and aerial images of the
areas. Thephotos show that the crevasses in the
Holtedahlfonna glacier are full of snow in the winter
season and open in the summer. Generally, in April
the snow layer is thick and strong enough to allow
snowmobiles to cross snow bridges. Most of the water
channels are well known. Therefore, they can be avoided
taking safe routes by using GPS navigation systems to
take safe routes.
Encountering the King of the Arctic
The remote camp will be set up in uninhabited
areas of the Svalbard archipelago. So, the Team will
actively monitor the possible presence of
polar bears
Normally, the highest probability of encountering
the King of the Arctic is in the coastal area, while the
probability decreases moving towards the interior of
the archipelago and in elevated areas.
For the Team, the most likely situation is to spot a bear
while traveling to or from work. Surveillance is planned
also during the night hours to ensure safety. In the
unlikely event that a bear is sighted at a safe distance
from the remote field work area, all Team members
are informed, and activity is immediately stopped until
If the bear moves towards the Team, scientists will
leave the area as soon as possible using snowmobiles.
The use of a rocket launcher may be considered to
keep the bear at a safe distance while preparing to
evacuate the camp.
Composition and organisation of the team
– A logistical team consisting of:
8 researchers, 1 driller, 1 video maker. See below.
Risk and safety
All biographies
and scientific
institutions and
partners –
see pages 15-16
Paleoclimatologist & Snow chemist
CNR – Italy
The Ice Memory Sanctuary:
of storage
at Concordia
Station in 2024-2025
A dedicated snow cave will be built at the French-
Italian Concordia Station, the only international
research station on the Antarctic Plateau. The station
is operated by the French Polar Institute and PNRA,
and allows natural storage at -50°C.
Located close to the Concordia Station, the
storage site will cover a suace area equivalent
to approximately twenty 20-foot containers, or
approximately 300 m2. Jointly managed by IPEV and
PNRA, the first cave should be available for the first Ice
Memory cores in 2024-2025.
The Ice Memory Sanctuary oers solutions to
major challenges
Despite the added complexity of transporting the
heritage cores to Antarctica, this strategic choice is
essential for several fundamental reasons:
Guaranteed long-term preservation of the samples
using 100% “natural” storage with no energy
consumption required for refrigeration, thereby
protecting the precious samples from any risk
of disrupted refrigeration (technical problems,
economic crisis, conflict, acts of terrorism, etc.).
Structured management of these unique samples
combined with restrictive Antarctic logistics that
prevent easy access to the cores.
Storage in a polar region managed via the Antarctic
Treaty
– signed by the world’s major nations, and for
which territorial claims are frozen.
Antarctica, the sanctuary
of Ice Memory’s heritage
for centuries to come
Under current conditions, there is no cold room that can ensure 100% conservation, in other
words conservation that is free from the risk of technical or economic failure over very long
periods of time. The French Polar Institute (IPEV) and the Programma Nazionale di Ricerche
in Antartide (PNRA) of Italy, which jointly manage the Concordia Station on the Antarctic
Plateau, will provide transport and storage for the ice cores drilled for Ice Memory.
© Thibaut VERGOZ
The Ice Memory sanctuary at Concordia Station will
rely on an innovative solution combining the rigidity
of existing infrastructure with the environmental
friendliness of natural snow arches. Design studies
conducted by French and Italian polar logistical
agencies, with additional support from scientists at
IGE (Grenoble, France), yielded a design proposal
combining natural snow with strengthened
infrastructure, in order to provide the longest possible
lifetime for the repository, all while limiting the impact
of construction in the Antarctic environment in
accordance with the Madrid Protocol.
A sanctuary open to all international teams
under Antarctic Treaty governance
The long-term governance of the Ice Memory
Sanctuary, spanning decades and centuries, should
ideally be placed under the auspices of international
institutions to ensure that this legacy can be passed
down through the generations, with no damage and
with optimum governance.
The heritage ice cores must be stored under common
ethical governance and Ice Memory technical
protocols.
An Ice Memory Sanctuary in Antarctica will therefore
be available for all Ice Memory labelled ice cores, for
an indefinite period. They are destined to become the
common heritage of humanity, and will be preserved
under international governance according to the rules
adopted by the Antarctic Treaty System.
They will be managed in accordance with the Madrid
Protocol. A specific protocol applicable to operators in
Antarctica, which will be adopted by the Ice Memory
Foundation, is currently being developed.
The 41st Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM),
held in July 2018 in Buenos Aires, recognised the
importance of the Ice Memory project, and will ensure
that the programme adheres to the Madrid Protocol
on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.
The 42nd ATCM, held in Prague in July 2019, included
a discussion surrounding an Ice Memory Information
Paper presented by the French and Italian
Universal governance by 55 nations via the Antarctic
Treaty ensures that this continent is a land exclusively
dedicated to Peace and Science – an ideal location to
keep and preserve Ice Memory ice cores for decades
and centuries to come.
Photos de la cave
© Rocco Ascione / PNRA /
French Polar Institute
© SHUTTERSTOCK
Ice Memory is the collective
responsibility of our generation, which is
The Ice Memory Foundation is supported in equal parts by the founding scientific institutions
and philanthropic donors. We would like to thank all of the donors who have helped make the
initiative a reality since 2015.
Svalbard expedition sponsors
Svalbard
Major philanthropic partners of the Ice Memory Foundation
Kässbohrer is the world leader in specific machines for accessing and working in diicult environments
such as snowy mountains. Deeply involved in sustainable development issues, Kässbohrer supports the Ice Memory
Foundation, returning to its basic environment of ice and snow. Kässbohrer is proud to facilitate the acquisition of
knowledge about the history of our climate and environment, which will be the basis for our future decisions regarding the
preservation of our planet.


Thermo Fisher Scientific is a world leader in serving science through cutting-edge technologies and
services that enable researchers, organizations, and companies to make the world healthier, cleaner, and safer. Thermo
Fisher Scientific has supported Ice Memory since 2017 by donating state-of-the-art analytical equipment, and therefore
helping the PANDA analytical plaorm (IGE) reach the Top 3 ice core science research institutes in Europe.


The Didier and Martine Primat Foundation raises awareness among the general public and public
authorities about planetary issues related to human activities, and works towards a more responsible world by supporting
concrete actions fostering the emergence of more environmentally conscious and sustainable lifestyles. Faced with the
disastrous situation of disappearing glaciers, the Foundation has supported Ice Memory since 2017.


The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation is committed to protecting and advancing the health of the
planet for present and future generations by promoting a new relation to nature, as well as through innovation that can
accelerate this change. The foundation’s objective is to promote eective solutions for our planet’s biodiversity, climate,
oceans, and water resources. It has supported Ice Memory since its launch in 2015.
Svalbard
The operation’s total budget is estimated at
M€. The majority part is
provided by the Italian Ministry of University and Research through the PRA
and the FISR programs. The scientific institutions participating in the operation
provide logistics and human resources. The Ice Memory Foundation completes
the budget to cover the costs related to Ice Memory heritage core.
The Svalbard team members
Andrea Spolaor
Expedition leader. Andrea
snow chemistry expert at CNR.
He participated in several field
expeditions in Arctic, Antarctic
post-depositional and photochemical processes
in surface snow and snow-atmosphere
measurements in ice cores with particular
fertilization, and halogens measurements for
environment to understand the natural cycle of
carbon and their possible changes in the recent
Jacopo Gabrieli
Jacopo Gabrieli studied
chemistry at the University of
Padua, and earned a doctorate
in Environmental Science from
the Universities of Venice and
the Institute of Polar Science at
the CNR, where he has spent years studying the
climate archives contained in ice cores.
Amountaineer for both his work and as a
passion, Jacopo has taken part in major
well as in Greenland, Antarctica, and Svalbard.
Catherine Larose
in the Environmental Microbial
Ampere laboratory at Ecole
Centrale de Lyon, UoL, since
and biogeochemical approaches to understand
Daniele Zannoni is a research
technologist at Ca’ Foscari
University of Venice. After
Environmental Sciences in
2018, Daniele has been
environmental radioactivity at CNR-ICMATE
and in stable water isotopes and ice core
research at CNR-ISP. Afterwards, at the
Geophysical Institute – University of Bergen, he
composition of atmospheric water vapor.
Victor Zagorodnov
Victor Zagorodnov has 50years
of expertise in glaciers
glaciated Earth Regions:
Antarctica, Greenland, Central
Federico Scoto is currently a
Postdoc the Institute of
Atmospheric Sciences and
Climate (ISAC-CNR). During
his PhD in Science and
Foscari University (Venice, Italy), he studied
past abrupt climate variability, making use of
ice core-based proxies to reconstruct past sea
Fabrizio de Blasi has a master’s
degree in Forest and
Environmental Science and
Resources and health. Since
have been on the mountain and
environmental science with a focus on the
Paolo Conz born and lives in
Feltre, in the southern part of
teenager, and eventually
became a Mountain Guide,
a Regional Instructor in
Mountain Rescue, the Deputy Station Manager
Riccardo Selvatico is a
who has made the passion for
images his work. Born in
Venice in 1974, he approached
in Tourism Economics at
Ca’Foscari. Besides photography, he is also
the whole Outdoor world with a particular focus
on high mountains. During the winter, now
production of the Ski Mountaineering World
ISP-CNR
The mission of the ISP is to contribute to increasing the quality of Italian scientific and technological research in the polar
regions, and to provide knowledge on global changes in support of Italian and European environmental policies by the
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The French National Center for Scientific Research is one of the most recognised and
renowned public research institutions in the world. For more than 80 years, it has
continued to attract talent at the highest level and to nurture multi-disciplinary and
interdisciplinary research projects at the national, European and international levels.
Geared towards the public interest, it contributes to the scientific, economic, social
and cultural progress of France. The CNRS is above all 33,000 women and men, more
than 1,000 laboratories in partnership with universities and other higher education
Press contacts
ICE MEMORY FOUNDATION
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Contents available from the 20th of April 2023