Antarctica provides a remarkable source of biodiversity and serve as “a major sink” of human-made carbon emissions. In “The Time is Right for an Antarctic Biorepository Network,” the authors, from numerous institutions around the United States, argue that there is “an extensive, largely untapped wealth of Antarctic specimens” around the world. “The majority of Antarctic biological specimens are invisible and inaccessible.”

With a virtual “biorepository network of Antarctic specimens,” scientists could better address “the most critical questions in Antarctic science, [including] improving human welfare, and mitigating the impacts of climate change.”

Find the paper and the full list of authors at PNAS.