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Ice core drilling at night.
September 3, 2020

How ancient ice cores show ‘black swan’ events in history – even pandemics

Records of human history, preserved for thousands of years

Originally published in The Conversation.

By Lonnie Thompson, Distinguished University Professor, Earth Sciences, The Ohio State…

Icebergs near Greenland form from ice that has broken off--or calved--from glaciers on the island. A new study shows that the glaciers are losing ice rapidly enough that, even if global warming were to stop, Greenland's glaciers would continue to shrink.
August 13, 2020

Glacier Retreat Drives Continuing Greenland Ice Loss

Even if the climate warming stops, study finds, glaciers will continue to shrink

Nearly 40 years of satellite data from Greenland shows that glaciers on the island have shrunk so much that even…

Lonnie Thompson of Ohio State on 2019 Huascaran expedition (Photo credit: Todd Johnston, Article: Kristen Pope, Yale Climate Connections)
August 13, 2020

Scientists seek to collect ice core samples before glaciers and ice sheets melt

Dr. Lonnie Thompson and Dr. Richard Alley discuss the urgency and challenges associated with saving perfectly preserved atmospheric records contained within ice cores with Kristen Pope in the…

Jim DeGrand installs sensors around the OSU campus.
August 10, 2020

It's hot in the city: understanding the urban heat island effect on Ohio State's campus

Forty years ago, Ohio State geography Professor John Arnfield would get into his Volkswagen Microbus and set out to study the microclimates in Columbus. His wife, Joan, marked intersections in the…

Berry Lyons
August 7, 2020

Dr. Berry Lyons receives the 2020 SCAR Medal for Excellence in Antarctic Research

Congratulations to Dr. Berry Lyons for receiving the 2020 SCAR Medal for Excellence in Antarctic Research.

Dr. Lyons has worked in Antarctica since the early 1980s and served on a number…

Read Biggest ice sheet on Earth more vulnerable to melting than thought
July 22, 2020

Biggest ice sheet on Earth more vulnerable to melting than thought

National Geographic published an article on July 22, 2020 discussing discoveries made using rock samples stored at the Byrd Center's Polar Rock Repository (PRR). These samples were collected from…

Ice core drilling equipment.
July 15, 2020

A Scientific Record at Risk

"As climate change threatens Earth’s glaciers and ice sheets, climatologists and chemists race to bank ice core samples for the future. By Katherine Bourzak, C&EN Staff."

Dr. Lonnie…

Kira Harris on a tree log
July 8, 2020

Kira Harris Receives Henry Brecher Technical Achievement Award

Congratulations to Byrd Center intern and Class of 2020 graduate Kira Harris for receiving this year's Henry Brecher Technical Achievement Award! 

This award is named in honor of…

Dr. Lonnie Thompson’s article in REI’s Uncommon Path Magazine
July 8, 2020

Dr. Lonnie Thompson and REI’s Uncommon Path Magazine

Dr. Lonnie Thompson was recently photographed for REI's Uncommon Path magazine. In his interview, Lonnie described his time collecting over 7000 meters of ice cores for climate research, spending…