Scientists transport Antarctica's oldest ice cores to Europe

Scientists extracted deep ice cores from Antarctica as part of the Beyond EPICA - Oldest Ice project, aiming to uncover Earth's climate history spanning more than 1.2 million years.

The project, funded by the European Commission and coordinated by the Institute of Polar Sciences of the National Research Council of Italy (Cnr-Isp), is expected to contribute significantly to climate science.

The ice cores, drilled from a depth of 2,800 meters (9,186 feet), are being transported to Europe aboard the research vessel Laura Bassi, where they are being stored in containers at -50°C (-58°F) to maintain their integrity. They will first arrive in Italy before being sent to Germany, where scientists will cut them into sections for further distribution across laboratories.

Researchers hope to reconstruct climate patterns, studying historical atmospheric temperatures and greenhouse gas concentrations dating back over 1.2 million years.

A multinational team of researchers from 10 European countries conducted the drilling over three months at an altitude of 3,200 meters (10,499 feet) above sea level. Working in extreme conditions, where the average summer temperature was -35°C (-31°F), they reached the Antarctic ice sheet's bedrock.

“A remarkable achievement was accomplished during the last drilling season. In the last few days, we planned the future analyses that will unveil the history of past climate over the last 1.2 million years—and possibly even further back. We look forward to receiving the samples soon.” says, Carlo Barbante, a professor at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice and coordinator of Beyond EPICA.