Unlocking the Past: How 1.2 Million-Year-Old Antarctic Ice Serves as a Frozen Time Capsule

Researchers have successfully retrieved what is believed to be the planet’s oldest ice, estimated to be 1.2 million years old, from deep within Antarctica. In harsh conditions of -35 degrees Celsius, the team drilled an ice core measuring 2.8 kilometers, containing ancient air bubbles that could offer significant insights into Earth’s climatic history. After four summers of dedicated work, the international crew, competing against seven other nations, reached the bedrock beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet to obtain the 9,186-foot-long sample.

The core acts as a “time machine,” preserving “an extraordinary archive of Earth’s climate,” explained Carlo Barbante, leader of the Beyond EPICA, or European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica – the team responsible for collecting the core.

Currently, the core has been segmented into 1 meter (3.2-foot) sections for further analysis. Considered to be among the oldest drilled ice on the planet, this core might unveil answers to critical questions concerning the planet’s climatic evolution.

“The air bubbles caught within the ice core provide a direct snapshot of historical atmospheric composition, encompassing greenhouse gas levels such as carbon dioxide and methane,” Mr. Barbante stated in an email to CNN.

“By examining these, we can reconstruct how Earth’s climate reacted to fluctuations in climate forcing factors like solar radiation, volcanic eruptions, and orbital changes. This information aids us in understanding the complex relationship between greenhouse gases and global temperatures over hundreds of thousands of years, stretching back to 1.2 million years and possibly even further,” he added.

Researchers are optimistic that the ice will assist them in comprehending why the timeline of Earth’s ice ages suddenly changed roughly a million years ago. A recent investigation implies that this occurrence nearly resulted in the extinction of ancient human ancestors.

The core was uncovered by scientists during the fourth campaign of the Beyond EPICA – oldest Ice project, sponsored by the European Commission. The campaign took place from mid-November to mid-January. Over the course of the past four summers, experts from 12 European scientific institutions have drilled and processed the ice for over 200 days.

This initiative builds upon a 1996 program where researchers identified links between the past 800,000 years of atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.