Beyond EPICA – Oldest Ice

So far the longest Antarctic ice core stretches 800,000 years into the past. The data from it have shown the dynamics of glacial cycles that are approximately 100,000 years long, and the close link between carbon dioxide and climate across these cycles. However, it is known from marine cores that juts before 800,000 years ago the Earth experienced a different periodicity, close to 40,000 years. In a 10 country European consortium, funded by the EU and national agencies, the project is drilling a new ice core that hopes to stretch 1.5 million years. This will encompass the change in pace and help to reveal the causes of it. The old ice should be drilled in the 2024/25 field season, and the project funding runs into 2026.