. 24/7 Space News .
ICE WORLD
Scientists prepare to find oldest ice on Earth
by Brooks Hays
Cambridge, England (UPI) Nov 14, 2016


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

The oldest ice core recovered from Antarctica -- found roughly a decade ago -- offered scientists a history of climate change going back 800,000 years.

A new team of European researchers is aiming to peer even further back in time. The group is set to depart for East Antarctica this month in search of the oldest ice on Earth.

"We want to double the length of that record to investigate an important shift in Earth's climate around one million years ago, when the planet's climate cycle between cold glacial conditions and warmer interludes changed from being dominated by a 41,000-year pattern to a 100,000 year cycle," Robert Mulvaney, an ice core scientist with the British Antarctic Survey, said in a news release.

Tiny air bubbles trapped in ancient ice allow scientists to measure how Earth's atmosphere changed over time, as well as assess the role of increasing and decreasing CO2 levels in dictating climate change.

"We need to understand the interaction between the Earth's atmosphere and climate in very different conditions in the past if we are to be sure we can predict the future climate response to increasing greenhouse gases," Mulvaney said. "There is no other place on Earth that retains such a long a record of the past atmosphere other than the Antarctic ice sheet, and it is tremendously exciting to be embarking now on the journey to recover this record."

The ice-hunting efforts are part of a mission called Beyond EPICA, funded by the European Union. Scientists will survey a variety of potential ice-drilling locations East Antarctica.

To find where ancient ice is hiding, scientists must analyze a variety of factors, including temperature, topography, ice flow and snow accumulation. Identifying the places most likely to harbor ancient ice is phase one of the mission. Phase two, drilling, will likely take several years to complete.

The hope is the mission will yield ice samples as old as 1.5 million years.

"During previous studies we determined key regions where we expect the oldest continuous ice record on Earth," said Olaf Eisen, project coordinator and glaciologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute. "Now we have to prove this and it is important that we learn as much as possible about deposition processes and the composition of the ice."


Comment on this article using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Beyond the Ice Age






Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
ICE WORLD
Thawing ice makes the Alps grow
Potsdam, Germany (SPX) Nov 11, 2016
The Alps are steadily "growing" by about one to two millimeters per year. Likewise, the formerly glaciated subcontinents of North America and Scandinavia are also undergoing constant upward movement. This is due to the fact that at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) about 18,000 years ago the glaciers melted and with this the former heavy pressure on the Earth's surface diminished. ... read more


ICE WORLD
Progress, but uphill slog for women in tech

NavCube could support an X-ray communication test in space

NASA, Navy practice Orion module recovery

Weightless tourism just 4 years away

ICE WORLD
US revives hypersonic aerospace research

JCSAT-15 arrives in Kourou for Dec Ariane 5 launch

Aerojet Rocketdyne completes CST launch abort engine hot fire tests

China launches first heavy-lift rocket

ICE WORLD
Novel Analysis Technique Helps Solve Beagle 2 Mystery

Mars' ionosphere shaped by crustal magnetic fields

Iron-Loving Bacteria A Model For Mars Life

Opportunity makes small U-turn to reach summit of Spirit Mound

ICE WORLD
China's Chang'e-2 a success

Long March-5 reflects China's "greatest advancement" yet in rockets

New heavy-lift carrier rocket boosts China's space dream

Long March-7 being assembled, to transport Tianzhou-1

ICE WORLD
SSL delivers powerful, high capacity broadband satellite for Hughes to Cape Canaveral

NASA small satellites will take a fresh look at Earth

Airbus Defence and Space delivers satellite communications to Royal Air Force's Red Arrows

AsiaSat wins patent for effective satellite broadband connectivity to aircraft

ICE WORLD
First random laser made of paper-based ceramics

A new type of convection is proven in granular gases

Scientists have 'scared away' microparticles with laser light

Study: Math scares everyone, even physicists

ICE WORLD
Protoplanetary Discs Being Shaped by Newborn Planets

Scientists unveil latest exoplanet-hunter CHARIS

What happens to a pathogenic fungus grown in space?

How Planets Like Jupiter Form

ICE WORLD
Mystery solved behind birth of Saturn's rings

Last Bits of 2015 Pluto Flyby Data Received on Earth

Uranus may have two undiscovered moons

Possible Clouds on Pluto, Next Target is Reddish









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.