Glacier Preservation Mission at Washington D.C. Diplomatic Event
© Ambassy of France in the United State
The Ice Memory Foundation presented its essential work to preserve the planet's climate history during a high-level event hosted by the Embassy of France in the United States, in collaboration with the Embassy of Switzerland and the Embassy of the Principality of Monaco.
Diplomatic Support for Science
The event, moderated by CBS News correspondent Christina Ruffini, featured opening remarks from Swiss Ambassador to the United States Jacques Pitteloud, Monaco Ambassador H.E. Maguy Maccario Doyle, and French Deputy Chief of Mission Aurelie Bonal.
The gathering brought together diplomats, philanthropists, advisors to U.S. senators, and representatives from major American research institutions to discuss the various facets of the Ice Memory initiative.
From the Alps to Alaska
Jérôme Chappellaz, glaciologist and EPFL Professor, joined as then former President of the Ice Memory Foundation, the panelists Anne-Catherine Ohlmann and Dominic Winski from the University of Maine to address questions from the attentive audience.
Winski presented the importance of a potential ice core drilling project on the Eclipse Ice Field in Alaska's St. Elias Mountains—an exceptional site where the Ice Memory Foundation hopes to work in the coming years. This would expand the project's reach beyond its current work preserving glaciers in the Alps, Andes, and other mountain ranges worldwide.
Mission: Preserve Climate History
The Ice Memory Foundation's mission is to collect irreplaceable and invaluable information about past climate and atmospheric conditions from mountain glaciers that are at risk of disappearing due to climate change. These ice cores are then preserved in Antarctica as a legacy for future generations of scientists.
Science Diplomacy in Action
The French Embassy emphasized that science diplomacy and international cooperation are crucial to this work, noting the embassy's full commitment in line with the outcomes of the first international summit dedicated to glaciers and poles, convened in Paris in 2023 by President Emmanuel Macron.
The event highlighted how the Ice Memory Foundation brings together research institutions from France, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, and beyond, including EPFL, CNRS, the French Polar Institute Paul-Émile Victor, the University of Grenoble Alpes, Italy's National Research Council, and others.
