About NSF-ICF

Overview

The U.S. National Science Foundation Ice Core Facility (NSF-ICF) — formerly the U.S. National Ice Core Laboratory (NICL) — is a facility for storing, curating, and studying meteoric ice cores recovered from the glaciated regions of the world. It provides scientists with the capability to conduct examinations and measurements on ice cores, and it preserves the integrity of these ice cores in a long-term repository for current and future investigations.

NSF-ICF is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Polar Programs and operated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The University of New Hampshire provides scientific management.

Physical Facility

The National Ice Core Laboratory (NICL) was established in 1993 and renamed to the U.S. National Science Foundation Ice Core Facility (NSF-ICF) in 2018. NSF-ICF is located at the Denver Federal Center in Lakewood, Colorado, and is funded by the NSF. NSF-ICF is housed administratively within the USGS Geology, Energy, and Minerals Mission Area (GEMMA), which is responsible for all operational aspects of the facility through an interagency agreement with the NSF.

The facility's most important responsibility is for the safe and secure storage and curation of ice cores collected primarily by NSF-sponsored projects. The facility also allows scientists to examine ice cores without having to travel to remote field sites. 

The facility utilizes a fully redundant refrigeration system operating on R-477, better known as CO₂ (carbon dioxide). The redundancy ensures constant temperature stability and allows for continued operations when one system is under maintenance or repair.

The main archive freezer is ~6,000 square feet (72,000 cubic feet) and is held at a temperature of -36°C. The examination room is 1,500 square feet (7,800 cubic feet) and is held at -24°C. The facility also has a temperature variable dock from 0°C to -30°C for additional temporary storage or overflow exam space. The dock also acts as a buffer from the main storage to the outside air. Inside the main archive freezer, the ice cores are stored on a rolling rack system – similar to how books are often stored in a library – to maximize storage. The exterior walls have shelving for additional storage, and there is a forklift-accessible loading area for pallet storage. NSF-ICF also maintains office space outside the freezer for staff, visiting scientists, and educational outreach. In addition, there’s also material fabrication, storage, and general workspace.

Science Management Office

Scientific management of NSF-ICF is provided by the Science Management Office (SMO) located at the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space at the University of New Hampshire. The SMO oversees the scientific operations and activities at NSF-ICF and serves as the primary point of contact for scientists interested in access to ice cores stored at the facility and/or use of the facility.

Storage & Curation

NSF-ICF's most important responsibility is the safe and secure storage and curation of ice cores collected primarily by U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored projects. The main archive freezer is ~6,000 square feet (72,000 cubic feet) and is held at a temperature of -36°C. 

When a shipment of new ice arrives, staff quickly unload the insulated boxes containing the cores into the main archive freezer. Once the new ice reaches thermal equilibrium with its new surroundings, staff carefully unpack, organize, rack, and inspect it. After racking, the tubes are checked into NSF-ICF's inventory system.

Examination & Core Processing

In addition to the main archive freezer, NSF-ICF also has a 1,500 square foot (7,800 cubic foot) exam room held at -24°C that scientists use when examining the ice cores.

Scientists use the exam room to cut samples from the ice cores archived at the NSF-ICF and then ship them back to their university or laboratory for analysis. If scientists need only a small number of samples, NSF-ICF staff often cut them and ship them to the scientists. Very few analyses on the ice cores are carried out at the NSF-ICF. Almost all measurements made on the ice cores are conducted at the scientist's university or laboratory, except hyperspectral imaging, electrical properties, and physical property preparation and analysis, which are conducted at the NSF-ICF. 

A frequent activity at the NSF-ICF is called a core processing line, or CPL. When a new ice core arrives at NSF-ICF, researchers (and their graduate students) from across the country gather at NSF-ICF for the CPL. During the CPL, the scientists and NSF-ICF staff measure, catalog, cut, and ship pieces of the ice core to their respective universities and laboratories for analysis. Depending on the complexity of the cut plan, cores can typically be run through a CPL at a rate of 30-35 meters per day. At this rate, a 1000-meter-long ice core takes six to eight weeks to process.