Pristine Antarctic Ice Core Touches Down in Switzerland: A Key to Climate Mysteries

Scholars at the University of Bern are enthusiastically awaiting a distinctive scientific discovery this August. They revealed on Wednesday that sections of the oldest ice from Antarctica to this point will be transported to Switzerland.

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The 2.8-kilometre-long ice core comprises climate data extending back more than 1.2 million years. It was successfully retrieved earlier this year. In the ice laboratory at the University of Bern, scientists will scrutinize gases like CO2 and methane within the ice to extract insights regarding the climate of that era.

+Researchers in Bern retrieve ice core dating back 1.2 million years

“This necessitates accuracy,” remarked Hubertus Fischer, who is spearheading the Swiss research efforts. “We are exceedingly meticulous about this,” stated the researcher. The university is prepared. “Our techniques have been thoroughly vetted.” Other universities across Europe are also analyzing portions of the ice.

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Currently, the ice cores remain in Antarctica. They will shortly be loaded into specialized refrigerated containers on an Italian research vessel, which will ferry them to Europe.

Translated from German by DeepL/sp

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