Ohio State’s Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center is building upon nearly 60 years of excellence in polar and alpine research to support the expanding scope of climate science across the university.

“There has been a big expansion of climate-related science on campus in different divisions and colleges, and Byrd Polar wants to bring all of that science together to inform collaborations and to form a nexus for climate studies on campus,” said Ian Howat, professor of Earth sciences and director of Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center.  

With the university investing in multiple projects related to global climate change through its Discovery Themes, such as the Sustainable and Resilient Economy program, the time seemed right for the center to expand into a hub for climate science, Howat said.  

“Really it just comes down to the emergence of climate change as this big interdisciplinary problem that cuts through the entire university, and I don’t think you could have said that 10 years ago,” he added.

Byrd Center’s impressive and extensive work in the polar sciences extends to an internationally recognized ice core paleoclimatology program — which leads missions to extract ancient ice from the highest tropical and subtropical mountains to understand Earth’s past and future climates — as well as cutting-edge research in environmental geochemistry, remote sensing and paleoceanography, among others.

A revised mission statement will allow the center to support Ohio State scientists conducting research related to climate change, variability and impacts. Available project support includes:

• Assistance with proposal preparation and submission
• Finances, human resources, purchasing and travel
• Shipping, customs and compliance
• Information technology and systems management
• Field and research equipment fabrication and maintenance
• Meeting and workshop organization and facilities
• Office and laboratory space
• Access to extensive archives of polar science and exploration, and
• Public outreach and communications

“My hope is that Byrd engages with every division on campus and that we find these synergies that didn’t exist before and create collaborations that weren’t there,” said Howat, adding that the center strives to grow scientific collaborations across academic units through regular programs and events.

“Climate cuts through everything at the university from public health through business and economics, through the humanities and social sciences, and of course, the physical and natural sciences,” Howat said. “There are no boundaries here.”