Deep dive into history: Organizations join forces to extract ice cores, preserve Grand Combin's glacial record

A research team coordinated by the Institute of Polar Sciences of the National Research Council of Italy (Cnr-Isp) and Ca' Foscari University of Venice has successfully extracted deep ice cores from the Corbassière glacier, on the Grand Combin massif. The bedrock was reached twice, at 99.5 and 98.9 meters, marking the expedition as a success.

An initial attempt was halted at a depth of 57 meters, while subsequent attempts reached the bedrock at 99.5 and 98.9 meters respectively, marking the expedition's success. For 15 days, scientists and support staff worked tirelessly at an altitude of 4,100 meters, overcoming technical difficulties that threatened to compromise the mission, as well as severe weather conditions, including strong winds reaching up to 100 km/h, frequent snowfall, and perceived temperatures as low as -35°C.

The temperature of -8°C measured at the base of the glacier confirms that the extracted ice possesses the ideal characteristics to recount the region's climatic and environmental history. One ice core will be analyzed in the laboratories in Venice, while the other will be preserved as a legacy. The mission was supported by the Ice Memory Foundation, which aims to safeguard ice cores from twenty high-altitude glaciers threatened by climate change, to preserve them in Antarctica for the benefit of future generations of scientists.

This was also the first mission carried out within the educational and scientific initiative "Follow the Ice—The Memory of Glaciers" by the Ca' Foscari University of Venice Foundation, supported by SEA BEYOND, a Prada Group project conducted in partnership with UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO-IOC) since 2019 to raise awareness of sustainability and ocean preservation.

"It was one of the most complex missions in recent years, but the team's preparation and dedication allowed us to overcome both technical obstacles and prohibitive conditions, bringing to safety a fundamental ice sample for better understanding the environmental and climatic dynamics of the Alpine arc," comments Carlo Barbante, full professor of Paleoclimatology at Ca' Foscari, senior associate at Cnr-Isp and vice-chair of the Ice Memory Foundation.

"Scientists who will continue our work in the coming decades will be grateful to all the organizations that contributed to achieving this result of extraordinary scientific and cultural value."

"We found ourselves at the limit several times and on the verge of having to give up, but we always found the energy and solutions to continue until the end," adds Jacopo Gabrieli, mission coordinator and CNR-ISP researcher.

"The Grand Combin proved to be a difficult site, where glacier conditions are visibly worsening due to climate change. In the superficial layers and up to about 30 meters deep, the glacier is like a sponge soaked in water due to summer melting. This phenomenon compromised the climatic signal up to over 20 meters deep; we hope to find better preserved ice in the deeper sections."

"This mission serves as a tangible example of our scientific responsibility to future generations. It is an ethical duty, as well as a scientific commitment, to safeguard natural archives today that could disappear in just a few years," says Giuliana Panieri, Director of the Cnr Institute of Polar Sciences and a full professor at the Arctic University of Norway. "As Cnr-Isp, we are pleased to support our researchers in this project and proud of their tenacity on site."

"Samples from our glaciers around the world are treasures of unparalleled value. Future generations of scientists will make new scientific discoveries long after many of these archives will have disappeared forever. This is why I am fully committed to the Ice Memory Foundation," says professor Thomas F. Stocker, Climate physicist and Chair of Ice Memory Foundation.

The stages of coring

In 2020, an initial coring attempt on the Grand Combin was interrupted by the unexpected presence of water and stratigraphic instability, and technical issues. The analysis of those samples, published in Nature Geoscience, demonstrated that the upper layers of the glacier had already lost significant chemical climatic signals due to global warming and the percolation of meltwater, providing a dramatic confirmation that these natural archives are vanishing more rapidly than anticipated.

The team then organized this new expedition with the ambition of preserving the memory of the Grand Combin, also employing a new electrothermal core drill. The first coring, which began on 20 May, halted at a depth of 55 meters. After changing equipment and drilling locations, work continued in shifts until late evening, allowing them to reach the rock beneath the glacier at 99.5 meters deep on Monday, 26 May, at 9:45 PM.

Operations then progressed to a third perforation, which attained the target at 98.9 meters deep on Thursday, 29 May. To study energy exchanges, meteorological and climatic measurements were collected throughout the mission.

Commitment to schools worldwide

Not only is this a race against time to preserve irreplaceable scientific data, but this expedition encompasses several educational and cultural aspects. The "Follow the Ice" project will also involve secondary schools worldwide in the fourth cycle of the SEA BEYOND educational module, commencing next September.

Collaborative efforts between UNESCO-IOC and the Ca' Foscari University Foundation will develop educational resources focused on glacier science and climate change, which will also be shared on the Ocean Literacy Portal and within the international Blue School network.

Provided by Ca' Foscari University of Venice