The Wider Image: Climate change thaws world’s northernmost research station

    NPI (Norwegian Polar Institute) glaciologist Jean-Charles Gallet (right), 41, and CNR (Italian National Research Council) glaciologist Federico Scoto ride motorbikes as they pull sleds loaded with boxes of ice cores for Ice Memory from the Holtedahlfonna icefield waiting to be brought back for storage to Ny-Aalesund, Svalbard, Norway, April 10, 2023. The team was drilling 125 meters into Dovrebreen glacier, hoping to collect two ice cores for studying 300 years of climate records – part of an effort by the non-profit Ice Memory Foundation to collect and preserve ice cores from melting glaciers around the world – and were shocked when the drill, at only 25 meters deep, suddenly sloshed into a massive pool of water. “The snow in the valley is gone, and you are stuck in town, and your snowmobile is in the garage,” Gallet said. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner