The ice sheet was found in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). The cylinders of ice (ice sheet) contain detailed information on past environmental conditions like the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases, surface air temperature, wind patterns, the extent of sea ice around Antarctica, and the average temperature of the ocean. Scientists are examining the ice to understand why climate can change abruptly. To know how old the ice is, the scientists mark the chemical change in summer ice and winter ice and then are able to count the layers to see how old it is. Samples of the ice core are going to be given to more than 20 U.S. university and national laboratories to test and improve the predictions of how the current human-caused increases in greenhouses gases are altering the earth's climate. It will take about two more years to finish all of the testing. In addition to collecting the 11,160 feet of a 4.8-inch diameter ice core, a new directional-drilling procedure was developed that allowed the team to drill through the wall of the main hole and collect a total of 936 feet of additional core from five of the most scientifically interesting time periods. The team stopped drilling 165 feet above where the ice contacts the rock below in order to avoid contaminating the water at the bottom of the ice, which has been isolated from the rest of the biosphere for at least 100,000 years.
N.O.S.
1. The scientists are observing the ice to see what it can tell them about climate change.
2. Ice samples were sent to various places for testing to reduce the amount of human error that could occur.
3. A new directional-drilling procedure was developed that allowed the team to drill through the wall of the main hole This enables replication of the results.
Article: http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2013/02/05/antarctic_ice_core_contains_unrivaled_detail_of_past_climate.html
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