Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery in Antarctica, extracting a 1.7-mile-long cylinder of ice that dates back 1.2 million years – the oldest known ice on Earth. The core, which is longer than eight Eiffel Towers end-to-end or six and a half times taller than the Empire State Building, is believed to hold secrets about past climate changes.
Working at temperatures of -35C for weeks, the team extracted the ice core from Little Dome C, one of the most extreme locations on the planet. The core reached deep into the bedrock beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet, providing a unique “time machine” that captures an extraordinary archive of Earth’s climate history.
The ice core contains ancient air bubbles that hold clues about greenhouse gas concentrations, atmospheric chemicals, and dust levels in the past. By analyzing these bubbles, scientists hope to unlock the secrets of glacial cycles and understand when climate changes occurred.
The discovery has significant implications for understanding Earth’s climate history, particularly the period 900,000-1.2 million years ago when glacial cycles were disrupted and some researchers believe human ancestors came close to extinction. The research team believes that analyzing the air bubbles in the ice core will help reconstruct how Earth’s climate responded to changes in climate forcing factors such as solar radiation, volcanic activity, and orbital variations.
The successful extraction of the ice core was a challenging feat, with the team facing “nail-biting last few days” as they drilled deeper than anticipated. The discovery is set to provide new insights into the intricate relationship between greenhouse gases and global temperature over thousands of years.
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1999383/Ice-age-mystery-could-be-solved