Meteorites may be lost to Antarctic ice as climate warms, study says

Indeed, according to a recent study, Antarctica’s rapidly warming environment could cause precious meteorite specimens to be lost. This warning comes from research conducted by the University of Manchester, where they have expressed concern about the unique preservation conditions for meteorites in Antarctica. These conditions allow even relatively rare types of meteorites to be found.

Meteorites are remnants from the early solar system and studying them allows scientists to understand more about the origins of our solar system. As the global temperature rises, the Antarctic ice will melt and the meteorites could seep deeper into the ice sheet, making recovery almost impossible. This presents a huge problem, as Antarctica has been a treasure trove for meteorite hunting and has yielded over two-thirds of the world’s collected samples.