Time Capsule For Earth: Scientists Seal Ancient Ice In Antarctica To Save Planet's Secrets

In a groundbreaking move, researchers have extracted and preserved ancient ice cores from the European Alps and stored them in a specially designed snow cave in Antarctica. This unique archive, housed at the Concordia Station, will safeguard the ice cores at a freezing temperature of -52 degree celcius, allowing scientists to study the Earth's climate history for centuries to come. As glaciers worldwide melt at an alarming rate, this project aims to preserve the secrets of the past and provide valuable insights into the Earth's climate evolution.

"To safeguard what would be otherwise irreversibly lost... is an endeavour for humanity," said Thomas Stocker, a Swiss climate scientist and chair of the Ice Memory Foundation, which spearheaded the initiative.  

The ambitious project was nearly a decade in the making, and posed not just logistical but unprecedented diplomatic challenges.

The sanctuary is really a cave, 35 metres long and five metres high and wide, dug roughly 10 metres below the surface into compact snow where freezing temperatures are constant.

In clear but freezing conditions at Concordia, roughly 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from the coastline, scientists cut a blue ribbon as the final boxes containing core samples from Mont Blanc and Grand Combine were placed into the icy vault.

In the decades to come, scientists intend to stock the archive with glacial ice from alpine regions such as the Andes, Himalayas and Tajikistan, where AFP witnessed the extraction of a 105-metre core in September.

Unlocking the Secrets of Ice Cores

Ice cores extracted from glaciers hold secrets of the past, revealing clues about ancient weather conditions, temperatures, and volcanic eruptions. These fragile records are rapidly disappearing due to global warming, with thousands of glaciers predicted to vanish in the coming decades. Scientists are racing against time to preserve these ice cores, which will become even more valuable as new technologies emerge to extract their secrets. "We are in a race against time to rescue this heritage before it will vanish forever," warns Carlo Barbante, an Italian climate scientist and vice-chair of the Ice Memory Foundation, highlighting the urgency of preserving these natural archives.

A Sanctuary for Science, Free from Politics

The ice core sanctuary is located at a French-Italian research station in Antarctica, governed by a global treaty, to ensure its neutrality and accessibility to all scientists. This strategic location aims to prevent political interference and make the ice cores available solely based on scientific merit. According to Anne-Catherine Ohlmann, the foundation's director, it's crucial to establish a governing framework to ensure the ice cores benefit humanity in the long run. The goal is to preserve these valuable resources for future generations of scientists, who can unlock their secrets and contribute to the greater good.

(With inputs from AFP)