Glaciologist Lonnie Thompson Dies at 78

Ohio State's Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center announced the death of the ice core scientist, who spent more than 55 years at the university.

Updated on Nov. 12, 2026 in Environmental

Lonnie Thompson, a professor of earth sciences and research scientist at Ohio State's Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, died at 78 following a brief illness. The Byrd Center announced his death on Nov. 3.

Why it matters

Thompson collected ice cores from glaciers outside the polar regions, and his observations provided evidence of warming temperatures and shrinking glaciers. His work is a foundation for understanding long-term climate change recorded in ice.

Thompson's career at Ohio State spanned more than 55 years, beginning with a master's degree in 1973 and a doctorate in 1976. The extraction does not detail the specific ice core measurements or datasets he produced.

The players

Lonnie Thompson

A glaciologist and professor of earth sciences whose ice core research documented warming temperatures and shrinking glaciers worldwide.

Ohio State University's Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center

A university research center focused on polar and climate science, where Thompson worked as a research scientist for decades.

The details

Thompson grew up on a small farm in West Virginia, where he maintained a weather station in his family's barn. He led expeditions to collect ice cores from glaciers in the Andes, Himalayas and Mount Kilimanjaro, often working alongside his wife, Ellen Mosley-Thompson, also a researcher on ice core work.

1973: Thompson earns a master's degree from Ohio State.
1976: Thompson earns a doctorate from Ohio State.
Nov. 3: The Byrd Center announces Thompson's death at 78.

Deeper Context

Thompson's ice core work from the Andes, Himalayas and Mount Kilimanjaro extended paleoclimate records beyond the polar ice sheets. His career at the Byrd Center links decades of glacier observation to the broader study of warming and shrinking ice.

Thompson's glacier records help scientists track how quickly ice is melting, which affects long-term projections for sea levels and water supplies. Readers following climate policy can see the evidence base these observations provide.

The takeaway

Long-term ice core records remain one of the clearest ways to measure how the climate has changed over centuries. Thompson's career shows how decades of patient fieldwork build that evidence.