Margit Schwikowski observed unusually warm temperatures high up in a Swiss glacier in 2020.

• Meltwater from warming weather is washing away trapped aerosols within the ice, hindering its use as a historical record.
• Schwikowski leads the Ice Memory Foundation which aims to preserve ice cores from glaciers before they are compromised by climate change.
• The foundation aims to collect cores from 20 glaciers worldwide and store them in an Antarctic ice cave for long-term preservation.
• Similar challenges are faced by other researchers due to climate change:
  • Geologists struggle to find meteorites on melting Antarctic ice.
  • Archaeologists race to collect artifacts emerging from melting ice patches before they deteriorate.
  • Historical sites built on permafrost are threatened by thawing ground.
• Researchers emphasize the urgency to preserve these records before they are lost forever.

Read more at The Grist website.