Scientists Transport Antarctica’s Oldest Ice Cores to Europe

Researchers have successfully extracted ancient ice cores from Antarctica as part of the Beyond EPICA – Oldest Ice project, which aims to uncover over 1.2 million years of Earth’s climate history, Anadolu Agency reported. This initiative, funded by the European Commission and coordinated by Italy’s National Research Council’s Institute of Polar Sciences (Cnr-Isp), is poised to make significant contributions to climate science.

The ice cores, drilled from a depth of 2,800 meters (9,186 feet), are currently being transported to Europe on the research vessel Laura Bassi. To preserve their integrity, the samples are stored in containers at -50°C (-58°F). They will first arrive in Italy before being sent to Germany, where scientists will section them for distribution to various laboratories.

Researchers aim to reconstruct climate patterns by examining historical atmospheric temperatures and greenhouse gas concentrations spanning more than 1.2 million years. A multinational team from 10 European countries conducted the drilling over three months at an altitude of 3,200 meters (10,499 feet) above sea level, enduring extreme conditions with average summer temperatures around -35°C (-31°F) to reach the Antarctic ice sheet’s bedrock.

Carlo Barbante, a professor at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and coordinator of Beyond EPICA, remarked, “We achieved a remarkable milestone during the last drilling season. In the coming days, we will plan future analyses that will reveal the climate history of the past 1.2 million years—and possibly even further back. We eagerly anticipate receiving the samples soon.”