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Scientists Drill 2.8 km to Extract 1.2 Million-Year-Old Ice Core in Antarctica, Led by Beyond EPICA's Carlo Barbante

Jan 9, 2025, 04:11 PM

An international team of scientists has successfully drilled one of the oldest ice cores yet, reaching ice that is at least 1.2 million years old in Antarctica. The drilling, which penetrated 2.8 kilometers (nearly 2 miles) deep to the bedrock, was conducted at a location known as Little Dome C, near the Concordia Research Station. The analysis of this ancient ice is expected to provide insights into how Earth's atmosphere and climate have evolved over time, including changes in Ice Age cycles and the impact of atmospheric carbon on climate. The project, named Beyond EPICA, is coordinated by Carlo Barbante, an Italian glaciologist and director of the Polar Science Institute at Italy's National Research Council. A team of 16 scientists and support personnel worked over four years in average temperatures of about minus-35 Celsius (minus-25.6 Fahrenheit) to achieve this. This ice core is a significant advancement as it extends the record of continuous climate data beyond the previous core, which was about 800,000 years old.