Chasing Climate Secrets in Ancient Antarctic Ice: From the South Pole to Brussels
Antarctic Ice Reveals Climate Secrets
In a climate‑century hub, scientists in Brussels dissect ancient Antarctic ice cores to trace Earth’s atmospheric history. Tiny air bubbles inside the ice offer snapshots of the planet’s past atmosphere.
Targeting Blue Ice
- Blue ice zones are rare, colored patches that form when wind blocks snowfall, exposing thick ice layers.
- Researchers pinpoint a blue‑ice stretch 2,300 m above sea level, 60 km from Belgium’s Princess Elisabeth Antarctica Research Station.
- Previous meteorite finds hint that surrounding ice is also old, guiding the team’s expedition.
Cost‑Efficient Exploration
- Deep‑ant Ice, millions of years old, lies beneath kilometres of fresher material, making drilling expensive (EU‑funded missions cost ~€11 m).
- Using satellite data, the VUB and ULB teams locate accessible sites, cutting the budget dramatically.
- After weeks of drilling, the January campaign returned 15 ice cores, about 60 m long, shipped from South Africa to Belgium for laboratory dating.
Future Fossil‑Age Samples
- Shallow cores (~10 m) may date back ~100,000 years, serving as a map for deeper drilling.
- Scientists compare the work to a treasure hunt, planning a follow‑up drill in 1.5 years for 3–5 m‑old ice.
- Such ice could fill gaps in climate models, linking CO₂ levels to temperatures during the warmest periods in the recent Pleistocene and future warming.
By unlocking ancient atmospheres, researchers aim to refine global‑warming projections and deepen our understanding of Earth’s climatic past.
