By: Aurora Ellis
Ohio State’s Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center has been home to ice cores from rapidly melting glaciers for nearly four decades. These cores come from mostly tropical areas and are critical to research in the fields of climate change, atmospheric studies, environmental history and more. However, the current ice core storage facility has run out of space and its mechanical abilities are beginning to fall to levels that risk the melting of the current collection. In order to solve this problem and preserve the valuable cores, the center has created a project to refurbish, expand and improve the Ice Core Facility. The project is desperately needed, but incredibly expensive.
Byrd has kickstarted a fundraising campaign with a goal of $100,000 to help provide the necessary funds to ensure the facility is open, functioning and spacious. The ice core facility campaign website offers various donation amounts that correlate to specific statistics about the center’s success. For example, one can donate $500 for the average of 500 meters of core that is added to the facility every year or $30 for the over 30 years the facility has been open. Currently, the initiative has completed approximately 30% of the goal with the deadline of Oct. 31, the campaign's close, being roughly two weeks away.
Details and more information about the renovation project.
Aurora Ellis is the student communications assistant at the Sustainability Institute at Ohio State.