UK Scientists are Melting Antarctica’s Ice

Scientists have taken a sample of the world’s oldest ice, and it has arrived at a research station in the UK. The ice was taken from the deep ocean in East Antarctica and is thought to be around 1.2 million years old. Scientists are melting the ice, hoping that it will reveal more about the Earth’s elemental history. It’s also hoped that by studying historic temperature and greenhouse gas levels, it will help us predict future climate change.

Scientists are not intrigued by the ice itself; they want to see what lies in the ice. Melting the ice will release ancient dust, volcanic ash, and even tiny marine life that were trapped inside when water turned to ice. These materials can help scientists understand what wind patterns, temperature, and sea levels were like more than a million years ago. Scientists are excited about what the melted ice can reveal.

So, how was the ice extracted? The ice was extracted by When working at temperatures of -35 °C, the team drilled a 1.7-mile-long piece of ice from deep within Antarctica. That’s the same length as just over 26 and a half professional football pitches! The ice was chopped into one metre blocks. Then it was carefully transferred by boat from Antarctica and by road to many scientific laboratories in Europe, including the UK, Germany, and Switzerland.

Scientists melt Antarctica’s ice to learn about what the weather and sea were like many years ago. A team of scientists drills deep underground to get the ice, then they chop it into smaller pieces. Scientists are very excited about what they will find in the ice.