Scientists made the first trip to the place where the oldest ice on Earth may be

Scientists made the first trip to the place where the oldest ice on Earth may be
Scientists made the first trip to the place where the oldest ice on Earth may be
Anonim

Scientists from the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) made the first scientific trip to the unexplored part of Antarctica, where, according to their calculations, the oldest ice on Earth is located, more than 1 million years old. This was announced on Friday by the press service of the institute.

"On January 24-30, 2020, the first scientific trip to the previously unexplored region of Central Antarctica, known as Ridge B, took place. The oldest ice on Earth should be 2-3 km old, and it should be much more than a million years old, "the message says.

To test this assumption, scientists need to collect additional information, the rate of snow accumulation and the temperature of the glacier surface. These data can be obtained through ground-based observations. "In the course of the movement, glaciological (related to the study of ice - approx. TASS) observations were carried out: radar survey of the snow mass with high-frequency radar, measurement of the glacier height using geodetic GPS, a snow-gauge pole was installed every 5 km, the density of snow was measured, samples were taken to determine the isotopic and the chemical composition of the snow, "the press service explained.

As noted in the AARI, after that the scientists set up a camp in a place where "no man's foot has gone before." For two days, the participants conducted the research. They drilled a hole 20.5 m deep, measured the temperature of the snow at its bottom. "A hole 2 m deep was opened, in which the stratigraphy and density of the snow mass were studied, samples were taken for the isotopic and chemical composition of the snow, methodological work was carried out to measure the speed of propagation of radio waves in the snow mass," the institute explained.

The results will be processed and analyzed in the summer of 2020. The AARI added that if a new project of deep drilling of the glacier is organized at Ice Section B, this will allow scientists to take samples of the oldest ice on the planet and find out the mechanisms and causes of climate change on Earth 1-2 million years ago.

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