16 hours ago
Researchers make jaw-dropping discovery after drilling over 2,000 feet into Arctic ice: 'Will offer unprecedented insight'
A team of international researchers in Canada made a thrilling breakthrough in an "ambitious Canadian flagship" ice-drilling project, the University of Manitoba announced.
Scientists from Canada, Denmark, and Australia teamed up with a "goal of drilling and retrieving a [613-meter] deep ice core" in Nunavut. Ice cores are an incredibly rich and valuable source of historical data about the atmosphere and changes to the climate.
"Crucially, the ice encloses small bubbles of air that contain a sample of the atmosphere — from these it is possible to measure directly the past concentration of atmospheric gases, including the major greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide," the British Antarctic Society explained.
In October, the team of scientists detailed their project in the Journal of Glaciology. Their abstract postulated that, based on their research, an "undisturbed Holocene climate record could likely be recovered from Müller Ice Cap" on Umingmat Nunaat (Axel Heiberg Island).
On May 26, the University of Manitoba issued a press release stating that the ice core's successful retrieval was complete. Lead researcher Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, who recently participated in a similar project in Antarctica, said the retrieval was difficult, but the outcome was worth it.
"It has logistically been a challenging project, so I am so excited to successfully retrieve the ice core from Müller," she commented. The University indicated the sample could "provide 10,000 years of knowledge on climate and sea ice from the Arctic Ocean" and contain key insights concerning mercury pollution.
University of British Columbia Polar Climate Scientist Anais Orsi shared her colleague's enthusiasm. "This is the first time such measurements have been done on the Canadian ice cap, and the results are looking very exciting," Orsi commented.
The University noted that data obtained from the ice core "will have far-reaching implications for Inuit communities in Nunavut and northern Canada," enabling scientists to extrapolate findings and more accurately predict coming changes to the climate in that region.
"Such a remote site, at the edge of the Arctic Ocean, will offer unprecedented insight into the long-range atmospheric transport of environmental contaminants to the far North — reconstructions of great importance both to science and to local communities," said Alison Criscitiello of the University of Alberta.
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