What was discovered in the first ice core project in the 1960s?

Ice cores were begun in the 1960s to complement other climatological studies based on deep-sea cores, lake sediments, and tree-ring studies (dendrochronology). Since then, they have revealed previously unknown details of atmospheric composition, temperature, and abrupt changes in climate.

How old are the glaciers in Antarctica?

The age of the oldest glacier ice in Antarctica may approach 1,000,000 years oldThe age of the oldest glacier ice in Greenland is more than 100,000 years oldThe age of the oldest Alaskan glacier ice ever recovered (from a basin between Mt. Bona and Mt. Churchill) is about 30,000 years old.

How do we know how old ice cores are?

Determining the age of the ice in an ice core can be done in a number of ways. Counting layers, chemical analysis and mathematical models are all used. Annual layers of snowfall recorded in an ice core can be counted — in much the same way that tree-rings can be counted — to determine the age of the ice.

How far down with scientists drill to excavate an ice core?

Researchers drill ice cores from deep (sometimes more than a mile, or more than 1.6 kilometers) inside the polar ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, as well as some high-latitude ice caps and mountain glaciers.

How many years does one layer in an ice core represent?

Ice sheets have one particularly special property. They allow us to go back in time and to sample accumulation, air temperature and air chemistry from another time[1]. Ice core records allow us to generate continuous reconstructions of past climate, going back at least 800,000 years[2].

How long ago was Greenland Green?

When Greenland was green: Rapid global warming 55 million years ago shows us what the future may hold.

How long has Antarctica been frozen?

The polar ice caps melted for a while after that and it wasn’t until Africa and Antarctica separated around 160 million years ago that it began to cool again. By 23 million years ago, Antarctica was mostly icy forest and for the last 15 million years, it has been a frozen desert under a thick ice sheet.

How old is the oldest ice on Earth?

How old is glacier ice?

• The age of the oldest glacier ice in Antarctica may approach 1,000,000 years old.
• The age of the oldest glacier ice in Greenland is more than 100,000 years old.
• The age of the oldest Alaskan glacier ice ever recovered (from a basin between Mt. Bona and Mt. Churchill) is about 30,000 years old.

How far back can we date ice cores?

800,000 years
Ice core records allow us to generate continuous reconstructions of past climate, going back at least 800,000 years[2].

How far do ice cores go back?

Current cores reach back over 800,000 years, and show 100,000-year cycles.

How old is the oldest ice core?

The oldest continuous ice core records extend to 130,000 years in Greenland, and 800,000 years in Antarctica.

How old is the oldest glacier?