A groundbreaking discovery has been made in Antarctica, where a team of scientists successfully extracted a 2.8-kilometre-long ice core believed to contain air bubbles and particles from 1.2 million years ago. This ancient ice sample, retrieved under extreme conditions with temperatures reaching -35 degree Celsius, holds the potential to reveal crucial insights about a critical period in Earth’s climate history. Researchers aim to study this ice to understand significant climatic shifts and their potential links to near-extinction events in human ancestry.

Historic Ice Recovery and Its Implications

According to reports from BBC News, the ice core was obtained from a drilling site named Little Dome C, situated on the Antarctic Plateau at an elevation of nearly 3,000 meters. The project, led by the Italian Institute of Polar Sciences and supported by scientists from ten European countries, took four Antarctic summers to complete. The extracted ice contains air bubbles, volcanic ash, and other particles, providing a snapshot of atmospheric conditions from up to 1.2 million years ago.

This ice core could shed light on the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, a period 900,000 to 1.2 million years ago when the glacial cycle lengthened from 41,000 to 100,000 years. Experts are particularly interested in whether this climatic shift correlates with a dramatic population decline in human ancestors.

Scientific Process and Goals

The core was transported in freezing conditions, cut into one-meter sections, and distributed to institutions across Europe for analysis. Scientists hope to uncover patterns in greenhouse gas emissions and temperature changes from this period, which could help refine climate models for future projections. Professor Carlo Barbante, a lead researcher at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, highlighted to BBC News, the significance of handling ancient air samples and volcanic ash embedded in the ice, emphasising its potential to expand understanding of Earth’s climatic past.

The analysis of this ice core is expected to provide pivotal data, offering scientists a clearer picture of how historical climatic changes shaped the planet and influenced early human evolution.