The
Ice Memory Foundation marked a historic milestone in the global effort to preserve the world’s glacier heritage for future generations, by inaugurating the Ice Memory Sanctuary on Antarctica’s frozen High Plateau.
The ceremony, broadcast live from Antarctica, represents a long-term commitment to safeguarding irreplaceable climate records at a time when glaciers are melting at an unprecedented rate.
For over a decade, the Ice Memory Foundation and its partners have been collecting ice cores from endangered glaciers worldwide. These ice cores contain unique records of past climates, atmospheric composition and environmental change, data essential for advancing scientific research and understanding Earth’s history.
The sanctuary will store these climate archives for centuries to come. From the Alps to the Antarctic Plateau, Antarctica offers the most stable natural storage conditions on Earth. Beneath the surface of the High Plateau, temperatures remain naturally constant between −50° C and −54° C year-round, eliminating the need for energy-intensive refrigeration systems.
The most recent expedition was conducted in Tajikistan in November 2025 in the
Pamir Mountains, where the first deep ice cores were successfully extracted from the Kon Chukurbaschi ice cap, further expanding its global archive of “heritage ice cores”.
The inauguration of the Sanctuary marks the beginning of what organizers describe as the first environmental legacy preserved in Antarctica for centuries. Taking place on 14 January 2026, together with its founding partners and some 300 participants from around the world, including scientists, diplomats, philanthropists and 80 journalists.
"Today, for the first time, humanity inaugurates a global sanctuary in Antarctica dedicated to the preservation of ice cores for generations to come. This sanctuary is open to the entire scientific community. It is a project of science, foresight, and also of public interest — a true global common good". HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, Honorary President of Ice Memory Foundation The initiative is also an extraordinary contribution to the United Nations
Decade of Action for Cryospheric Science (2025–2034), reinforcing the urgent need to respond to accelerating glacier melt worldwide.
