Abstract

Ice cores provide a uniquely stable medium for the preservation of biological materials on geological timescales. These materials are invaluable resources for understanding past climate, glacier mass balance, and biodiversity on our planet. Methodological developments in recent decades, both in the lab and in modeling, are leading to increasing recognition of the value and feasibility of biological records. This chapter surveys the utility and importance of biological material in ice cores, methods for the extraction and analysis of those records, and the future outlook in this rapidly growing area of inquiry.