Global warming is inevitable, and with it huge masses of ice are melting in the Arctic, not only raising sea levels, but also losing untold value of history along the way.
That is why scientists have begun drilling in the Arctic to save ancient ice samples that contain records about past environments before they melted.
The research team arrived at the Holtedahlfonna ice field in the Svalbard archipelago to set up camp at an altitude of 1,100m and for all these weeks they will work in temperatures as low as 25°C below zero.
The intention of the group of scientists is to drill the 125 m long ice cores in order to have a record of the climatic signals of the last 300 years.
To understand the choice of this location, it must be clarified that the Svalbard archipelago is the northernmost land in Europe, and unfortunately it is disappearing four times faster than the world average, having experienced an increase in temperatures between 4 and 5 °C in the last 40 to 50 years.
“Our objective is to determine the role of sea ice in the amplification of the Arctic and its impact on the atmosphere, in particular on the chemical processes of bromine and mercury.“, it states Andrea Spolaorglaciologist and geochemist at the Institute of Polar Sciences of the CNR.
A project with a view to the future
The idea is to preserve these ice cores for centuries in a sanctuary, a kind of dedicated snow cave that will be built at the Franco-Italian Concordia station, which is the only international station on the Antarctic plateau, and they estimate to finish it by 2025.
So when this frozen glacier disappears at least they will have saved these two huge ice cores for future scientists to have access to and study the planet’s past climate and anticipate future changes.
“The beauty of the Ice Memory initiative is not to produce added value in terms of current knowledge, but to create the conditions that allow those who come after us to produce it.“, it states Jerome Chappellazclimate scientist (EPFL-CNRS) and president of the Ice Memory Foundation.
In fact, researchers will be able to assess how the recent acceleration in temperature increases affects the accuracy of climate and environmental signals.