Help preserve the keys to our climate future

Why give now? Every donation for Day of Giving will unlock a share of our $190,000 matching pool, so you can make an even bigger impact on the causes you care about most! Gifts received now through April 3, 2025 at 11:59pm are eligible. 

For almost 40 years, Byrd Center scientists at Ohio State have been racing against a warming climate to collect and preserve ice cores from tropical glaciers before they melt and are lost forever. Byrd’s tropical ice core collection is the largest in the world and is recognized by the scientific community as a unique archive of our planet’s climate history; the oldest ice in the Byrd collection is estimated to be ~600,000 years old. If the cores — each 4 to 5 inches across and about a yard long — were lined up, they would stretch about 4.5 miles long.  

The ice cores contain frozen records of past temperature and samples of ancient air, dust, pollen, and even viruses and bacteria. These records allow us to predict our climate future by better understanding historical conditions that resulted from varying CO₂ concentrations and temperatures.

These samples are in imminent danger of being lost. The facility is over 30 years old, has exceeded its storage capacity and reached the end of its useful life. If the facility is not replaced immediately, the current core collection could be lost, and there's little space to add cores from future drilling projects.  

You can help Byrd Polar scientists preserve these essential ice core samples by giving to the Ice Core Facility Renovation Fund. Will you make a gift today to ensure Byrd Polar’s ability to document Earth’s climate history while preserving priceless frozen archives for the next generation of scientists?

About Day of Giving

When there are calls for support, Buckeyes are ready to answer. Every day, especially during the Day of Giving, Buckeyes come together to show the impact we can make when we all come together. Support for scholarships, advancing research, health and medical breakthroughs and more, there is an opportunity for you to join Buckeye Nation and make a limitless impact on the future.