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View of the Guliya Ice Cap on the Tibetan Plateau, showing a steep wall of exposed glacial ice beside rocky terrain, with a person standing in the foreground.

Lonnie Thompson and colleagues recently published new research in Science Advances revealing that ice preserved within the Guliya Ice Cap in northwestern Tibet dates back more than 100…

A group of researchers hiking the summit of Nevado Huascarán surrounded by snowy mountains.

Kara Lamantia and her colleagues recently published research in Nature using ice cores from Peru’s Nevado Huascarán to produce the first global record of historical tropical methane. The…

Line graphs showing mineral dust concentrations in Huascarán ice cores from 1960–2019. Dust deposition increases over time, with the largest particles contributing most of the dust mass.

Austin Weber and his colleagues recently published “On the Influence of Mineral Dust on Glacial Albedo at Nevado Huascarán (Cordillera Blanca, Peru)” in Journal of Geophysical…

Illustrated magazine page titled “Grade-A gray matter,” featuring colorful graphics and a list highlighting ten distinguished Ohio State University faculty members recognized for excellence in research, teaching, and innovation.

Distinguished University Professor Lonnie Thompson was recently featured in the Summer 2026 issue of Ohio State Alumni Magazine. The article, "Power of 10," highlights 10 Distinguished University…

Two people are setting up a tall drill Ice core beside an orange dome tent.

An international team under the Swiss Polar Institute's PAMIR Flagship Initiative has completed a five-week, high-altitude drilling campaign on the Kon Chukurbashi Ice Cap in Tajikistan's Pamir…

Researcher holding an ice core inside a dome field lab.

BBC World Service’s The Climate Question—stories on why we find it so hard to save our own planet, and how we might change that, spotlights how ice cores from Antarctica to Peru’s…

Sunrise reflects golden light on a rocky mountain slope across a still lake.

Lonnie Thompson, Senior Research Scientist at the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center and Distinguished University Professor of Earth Sciences at The Ohio State University, recently spoke with …

Lonnie Thompson meeting with Peruvian President (2019)

Researchers led by The Ohio State University's Earth Sciences Professor Lonnie Thompson, a Senior Research Scientist at the Byrd Center's Ice Core Paleoclimatology research group and a world…

Map displaying the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) movement.

A recent study published in Nature Communications, by Danielle E. Schimmenti in the Department geology and geophysics at Texas A&M University, along with Professor Franco Marcantonio, Dr…

A map showing major rivers and glaciers in Asia, including locations of ice core sites like Guliya, Puruogangri, and Dasuopu. Arrows indicate the movement patterns of the Westerlies and the Indian Monsoon.

A new study published in Scientific Data analyzed lead from the third pole ice core samples from the Puruogangri ice cap in central Tibet and the Dasuopu glacier in the central Himalayas…

A wide valley with alpine villages in the middle surrounded by steep forested slopes and high mountain peaks with glaciers.

On May 28, 2025, a catastrophic landslide obliterated approximately 90% of the Swiss Alpine village of Blatten in the Lötschental valley. The disaster was triggered by the collapse of the Birch…

An  engineered spherical SiO₂ microparticle.

A team of scientists, including several affiliated with The Ohio State University, has made significant progress in understanding how to more accurately measure nanoparticles and microparticles…

Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Logo.

We congratulate Kara Lamantia and Forrest Schoessow, who defended their Ph.D. dissertations successfully.

Kara defended her dissertation on May 7, 2025. Her research, titled …

A helicopter parked on a tarmac with a mountain in the background under a clear blue sky.

A new study published by Cambridge University Press 's Journal of Glaciology presents critical findings from a 2019 expedition to Nevado Huascarán, Peru's highest mountain and home to one…

Researchers ascending a steep, icy section of a mountain and moving equipment, using fixed ropes for safety.

A new study published in Nature's Communications Earth & Environment highlights a discrepancy in Holocene climate models, particularly over tropical mountains.

The research, led by…

Group of individuals posing for a photo in a conference room with a UNESCO podium.

On March 20–21, 2025, global experts convened at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris to celebrate the inaugural World Day for Glaciers and World Water Day. Among the events held on March 21 was the side…

Edward F. Hayes Advanced Research Forum Logo

The 39th annual Edward F. Hayes Advanced Research Forum took place on Friday, February 28, 2025, at The Ohio State University's Ohio Union. It brought together graduate students and postdoctoral…

Two people in caps and gowns flank two adults in front of a photo montage.

Earlier this week, in recognition of their exceptional contributions to scholarship, leadership, and service, Distinguished University Professors from the Byrd Center Ice Core Paleoclimatology…

People walking near a Glacier, with snow-covered mountains in the background.

In a recent episode of Tech Tuesday on WOSU, All Sides' Amy Juravich engaged in a compelling discussion with two of The Ohio State University's Byrd Center researchers, focusing on the urgent need…

Two side-by-side portraits, a female in a blue jacket and a male in a sweater and glasses,, both smiling.

The Voices of Excellence podcast, interviews with The Ohio State University researchers at the cutting edge of the arts and sciences, has released a fascinating two-part series featuring…

Three people walking up a snow covered hill, surrounded by mountains, with blue skies and white clouds..

In September 2024, the Byrd Center's Ice Core Paleoclimatology Research Group (ICPRG) joined a scientific expedition to the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, often referred to as Asia's "water tower," to…

Person in blue jacket standing on rocky ground, observing a glacier and a glacial lake in a vast, mountainous landscape.

In 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring 2025 the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation (IYGP). This resolution also established March 21 as the annual…

Jim Degrand

This year, the Henry Brecher Technical Achievement Award proudly recognizes Assistant State Climatologist Jim DeGrand for his outstanding contributions to the Ohio Mesonet, a project under the…

A tropical glacier landscape in Peru

Tropical glaciers are losing ice more rapidly than most other regions worldwide, and the Quelccaya Ice Cap in Peru’s Andes Mountains, the largest tropical glacier, is no exception. For 50 years,…

Top of mountains full of snow

A new study reveals that human activities have polluted some of the Earth’s most isolated areas. By analyzing ice cores from the Guliya ice cap in Tibet, researchers found clear shifts in lead…

People walking in a distance in a snow covered field under gray, cloudy skies.

In a significant environmental study led by researchers at The Ohio State University and collaborators from Texas A&M University, scientists have uncovered the historic and ongoing sources of lead…

Landscape photo showcasing the melting of a glacier

Natural climate patterns such as El Niño are causing tropical glaciers to lose their ice at an alarming rate, a new study has found.

A phenomenon that typically occurs…

Side-by-side, to the left. two people outdoors in front of am orange tent in snow working with equipment. On the right, an image of the ice core in a red tray.

Researchers at The Ohio State University have made a significant discovery in understanding how viruses preserved in glacial ice have adapted to Earth's climatic changes. The study, led by Byrd…

A man wearing dark color winter gear, hat and gloves, standing in a room. He is holding a long silver cylinder in both hands surrounded on both sides with shelves of silver cylinders.

This week, the journal Nature published an article that details an important upgrade at the U.S. National Science Foundation Ice Core Facility (NSF-ICF) in Denver, Colorado. The NSF-ICF,…

Five people, each carrying a group of long cylindrical tubes on their backs, walking away in a line on snow covered ground with snow capped mountain range at a difference under gray cloudy sky.

In a detailed article published in the Environmental Monitor earlier this year, Distinguished University Professor Lonnie Thompson from The Ohio State University's School of Earth…

Dirty, uneven ice.

Researchers from the Byrd Center have partnered with the International Microbiology Literacy Initiative (IMiLI) to co-author a pivotal chapter in the global effort to enhance microbiology literacy…

Byrd Center

The Byrd Center proudly celebrates the achievements of several of its members who have received notable honors in their respective fields. These recognitions highlight their dedication to research…

Rocky mountains covered with snow under blue skies.

The High Mountain Asia range is often described as the water towers of Central Asia due to its crucial role in providing water resources. Its glaciers, vital for sustaining human populations and…

Snow covered mountain range.

Recently published research conducted on an ice core from Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus region aimed to reconstruct the history of organic carbon (OC) aerosol over southeastern Europe by analyzing…

Cows graising in a grassy field with a body of water in the backdrop and a couple trees on either side of the image.

In a recent study published in Nature Communications, a team of researchers led by Byrd Center's ZhiPing Zhong has unveiled how viruses that infect microbes can potentially influence the…

Edward F. Hayes Advanced Research Forum Logo

Congratulations to this year's Edward F. Hayes Advanced Research Forum participants, who showcased their research on March 1, 2024.

The forum highlights research from various graduate degree…

White wind turbines on sand near body of water under blue skies with white clouds.

In the recent publication Great Decisions 2024 from Foreign Policy Association (FPA), a piece written by Environmental Journalist Bud Ward titled "Global trade and green energy" focused…

Inside of the Ice Core Freezer showing hundreds of cores crowded together and frost build up due to warm air leaking into the freezer.

According to The Lantern, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) adopted a resolution last Wednesday, urging The Ohio State University to fund crucial renovations at the Byrd Center's Ice Core…

A snow covered mountain with rocky peaks under blue skies.

In an effort to understand the earth's climate system, especially the regional variability of precipitation, which is essential for managing water resources, vegetation, and ecosystems,…

Man walking up glacier with valley and mountains

The recent warming trend since the mid-20th century poses a significant threat to the glaciers and ice sheets on the Tibetan Plateau. While glaciers in the Himalayas and the southern part of the…

A small map at the top left of the image with the detail insert map as the main map with blue and red lines on a brown and white satellite mage with a legend showing red as 2023 boundary and blue as the 1985 boundary with a north  arrow and a  scale bar at the bottom.

The Quelccaya Ice Cap (QIC) in Peru, recognized as one of the world's largest tropical ice caps, has been the focus of extensive research, particularly in studying its fluctuations during the…

Byrd center logo in the middle of collage of 6 images, 3 top 3 bottom of scientist lab and field work

The Byrd Center is pleased to announce that three new Byrd-affiliated faculty members in the School of Earth Sciences (SES) will start in January 2024! A warm welcome to Emilie Beaudon, Melisa…

An orange and white tent and drill equipment in a snowy field with white background.

In a recent international collaboration, researchers at The Ohio State University's Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center analyzed ice samples from high tropical mountains to gain a unique…

Scenic view of a body of water and snow-covered mountain and ice in blue waters under blue skies with clouds.

In a comprehensive study spanning 300 years (1700-2005) of an ice core from Svalbard in the European high Arctic, researchers examined the sources and characteristics of black carbon (BC)…

Lonnie Thompson talking in the polar rock repository and text. At the top text states  Oscilloscope  Laboratories. A text block at the bottom has the ABC logo and News Live Prime "Canary" takes viewers to world's remote areas.

ABC News Live Prime recently aired reporter Melissa Adan's interview with University Distinguished Professor Lonnie Thompson and filmmaker Alex Rivest to discuss the new documentary, "Canary."…

Huascaran Team Climbing on a snowy landscape

A recent study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres is the first to examine the oxygen stable isotope (δ18O) records of a collection of four ice cores drilled in…

Lonnie Thompson in the mountains

A recent episode of All Sides, aired on Sept. 6, 2023, and hosted by WOSU Chief Content Director of Radio Mike Thompson, featured The Ohio State University Byrd Center's Senior Research Scientists…

Byrd center logo in the middle of collage of 6 images, 3 top 3 bottom of scientist lab and field work

The Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center at The Ohio State University has achieved an unprecedented milestone, securing over $15 million in new research grants during fiscal years 2022 and 2023,…

Poster : 2 men setting up a white tent next to solar panels in mountains surrounded by snow. Text  on image: From the producers of Chef's Table  Canary  to discover something new...you must go where no one's ever been  ACT4 Boardwalk Pictures REI Co-Op Studios

Lonnie Thompson, a distinguished university professor at The Ohio State University School of Earth Sciences, has amazed the world with his audacious expeditions to Earth's loftiest peaks. With 70…

A massive wall of ice under blue skies.

In a recent scientific discovery, researchers successfully revived a microscopic roundworm encased in 46,000-year-old Siberian permafrost. Remarkably, the roundworm was so well-preserved…

Black yak carrying large Styrofoam boxes in rocky mountains

No Water, No Food- Without the glaciers, the U.S. and Chinese agriculture are at risk!

In a 2023 Wilson Center webinar, The Ohio State University School of Earth Sciences…

snow covered jagged mountain peaks under clear blue skies above but some haze below

In a recent collaborative study published in Environmental Research Letters from IOP Science, a team of researchers investigated the impact of black carbon (BC) deposition on the melting of Andean…

Boat traveling in calm open water with other boats of different sizes anchored in a row in the water

A recent study by lead author Jingyi Zhang at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, published in Geophysical Research Letters, analyzed the stable hydrogen isotope records in…

A tent in a distance on snow covered ground under sunny blue skies.

Recent research published in Global and Planetary Change studied the mass balance variations between glaciers situated in western Tibet and western Tien Shan during the ablation season,…