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At a remarkably isolated Antarctic research site, researchers have discovered an unspoiled specimen of our planet’s past.
This ice core measures 2,800 meters, approximately 1.7 miles, in length. However, it is not solely the length that is critical; the ice harbors trapped samples of Earth‘s atmosphere dating back around 1.2 million years, or perhaps longer. Previous ice cores have yielded direct evidence of the Earth’s climate and environment as far back as 800,000 years ago.
This represents a monumental advancement. The team drilled deep enough to encounter the bedrock of the continent.
“We have celebrated a pivotal moment for climate and environmental science,” Carlo Barbante, a polar researcher and organizer of the ice core project called “Beyond EPICA – Oldest Ice,” remarked in a statement.
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A collaborative team of scientists excavated the ice at Little Dome C Field Camp in Antarctica, situated 10,607 feet (3,233 meters) above sea level. They utilized radar technology on the subsurface and computer simulations of the ice flow to locate this ancient ice. Their predictions proved accurate.
This achievement was not straightforward. During summer months on the Antarctic plateau, average temperatures hover around minus-35 degrees Celsius, which is minus-31 degrees Fahrenheit.
The location of the Little Dome C research base in Antarctica. Credit: Beyond EPICA / EU
Ice core extracted from the latest Beyond EPICA – Oldest Ice expedition. Credit: Scoto © PNRA / IPEV
While paleoclimatologists, who investigate the Earth’s historical climate, have established reliable methods to indirectly assess our planet’s deep past — utilizing proxies like fossil remains and algal compounds — direct evidence through atmospheric samples is of immense scientific worth. For instance, prior ice cores have disclosed that the carbon dioxide levels that trap heat in Earth’s atmosphere have soared — currently, they are the highest they have been in approximately 800,000 years. This provides irrefutable evidence of the Earth’s history.
Scientists anticipate that this even older ice core will unveil insights regarding a period referred to as the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, which occurred roughly 900,000 to 1.2 million years ago. Intriguingly, during this time, the intervals between glacial cycles — when ice sheets covered vast areas and subsequently receded — significantly slowed from 41,000 years to 100,000 years.
“The causes of this transition remain one of the lasting enigmas in climate science that this project intends to decode,” stated the drilling initiative, coordinated by the Institute of Polar Sciences of the National Research Council of Italy.
The drilling phase is complete. However, the effort to securely transport the ice back to laboratories and analyze this ancient atmosphere is just commencing.
“The invaluable ice cores collected during this project will be transported to Europe aboard the icebreaker Laura Bassi, adhering to the minus-50 degrees Celsius cold chain, which presents a considerable logistical challenge,” stated Gianluca Bianchi Fasani, who leads ENEA (National Agency for New Technologies, Energy, and Sustainable Economic Development) logistics for the Beyond EPICA initiative.
These momentous ice cores will be shipped in “specialized cold containers” as they traverse the globe, moving far from the depths of their Antarctic origins.
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