2,800-Meter Antarctic Ice Core Unlocks 1.2 Million-Year Climate Data

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European scientists drilled 2,800 meters deep in Antarctica to extract ice cores containing 1.2 million years of Earth's climate history.

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Team worked in -35°C summer temperatures at Little Dome C site for more than two hundred days across four seasons to retrieve preserved atmospheric samples.

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Each meter of ice in the top 2,480 meters compresses up to 13,000 years of climate data through trapped air bubbles and temperature indicators.

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Scientists found a "Goldilocks" location where ice thickness preserved ancient layers without causing bottom melting.

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Current CO2 levels measure 50% higher than maximum readings from previous 800,000-year ice core records.

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The core captures the Mid-Pleistocene Transition when Earth's glacial cycles changed from 41,000 to 100,000-year intervals.

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Bottom 210 meters contain deformed ice from the pre-Quaternary period (2.58 million years ago), offering clues to East Antarctica's ancient ice coverage.

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Specialized cold containers will transport samples to European labs for detailed analysis of greenhouse gases and temperature patterns.

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Data aims to reveal connections between atmospheric composition and global temperature variations across geological time periods.

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