An ice core was recently drilled out of the Antarctic continent and while it’s impressive in size, its scientific significance cannot be overstated. Experts say it could provide unprecedented climate data going back millions of years.
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00:00This ice was recently drilled out of the Antarctic continent, and while it's impressive in size,
00:08its scientific significance cannot be overstated.
00:11That's because not only is it the longest core of ice ever yanked out of the ice sheet,
00:15measuring nearly 2 miles in length, but it will also provide unprecedented climate data
00:20going back millions of years.
00:22The whole thing, if laid on its side, stretches some 2,800 meters, or 9,186 feet long, which
00:29Scientillate reports is greater than the length of the Golden Gate Bridge.
00:33Every meter of the ice core contains 13,000 years of climate data, meaning this core could
00:38provide unbroken information dating back 1.2 million years, with some speculating the data
00:44could detail a time as far back as 2.5 million years.
00:47For the uninitiated, our previous best for a vertical core dates back just 740,000 years,
00:53and while experts have captured singular samples which go back 2.7 million years, those samples
00:58were broken, meaning they did not contain a continuous historical record, more like
01:02a snapshot.
01:03This new sample could finally reveal to scientists what happened in Africa in early human communities,
01:08where it is suspected some 99% of our species was wiped out due to cold periods.
01:13With director on the project, Carlo Barbante, telling CNN, this transition remains a scientific
01:18mystery, particularly regarding the role of greenhouse gases and ice sheet dynamics.