EPFL glaciologist Jérôme Chappellaz highlights the Ice Memory initiative at the launch of the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation.
The International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation was opened earlier this year on January 21, 2025 at the headquarters of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva. The event, co-organized by WMO and UNESCO with the support of Tajikistan and France, brought together leading scientists, policymakers, and international organizations to address the accelerating loss of the world’s glaciers.
Representing EPFL and the Ice Memory Foundation, Professor Jérôme Chappellaz, a senior glaciologist at EPFL’s School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC), underlined the urgent need to preserve ice cores, cylinders of ancient ice that contain vital records of Earth’s past atmosphere.
We know how much CO₂ we have put into the atmosphere compared with pre-industrial times because of ice. We know about the evolution of heavy metals, of radioactive emissions, about the atmosphere because of ice core measurements. Preserving these archives for future generations of scientists is our absolute responsibility. If we fail to act now, it will be too late.
For more than a decade, the Ice Memory initiative, led by the Ice Memory Foundation, has been collecting and conserving ice cores from endangered glaciers around the world. These samples are stored in Antarctica, where they will be preserved for centuries as a global scientific archive, a “memory of ice” for future generations.
On the sidelines of the Geneva launch, Prof. Chappellaz met with representatives from WMO, UNESCO, the government of Tajikistan, and the Asian Development Bank to explore long-term funding and governance for what could become a global heritage repository for humanity.
High-altitude glaciers are melting at an unprecedented rate, and while they exist in only a limited number of countries, their retreat affects the entire planet. The International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation 2025 aims to mobilize scientists, policymakers, and civil society to safeguard these fragile but vital witnesses of the Earth’s climate system.
The International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation 2025 aims to mobilize the scientific community, policymakers, and civil society to safeguard the world’s remaining glaciers — vital sources of freshwater and powerful indicators of the global climate crisis.