Scientists in major race against time after making chilling discovery hidden in centuries-old arctic ice
Scientists have made an unsettling discovery hidden in arctic ice that dates back centuries.
Researchers are desperately trying to analyse data from a glacier known as Blomstrandbreen, which is 18km-long and sitting in the Arctic Ocean.
Like many, the glacier is rapidly melting, which is putting crucial data located inside its core at risk.
The team recently travelled to the glacier, where it's reported they heard popping noises and cracking.
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Speaking to Carbon Brief, ice core scientist Dorothea Moser said: “That sound is the air bubbles in the ice escaping as it melts.
“The air is probably nearly 200 years old. It’s from the Victorian times.”
The bubbles inside the ice provide scientists with information about the levels of carbon dioxide that existed when the ice was formed.
This is obtained by scientists by removing ice cores, which are now at risk due to the rapid melting process.
The team are desperately trying to understand if the data can be saved, even once the melting has started.
Known as 'proxy data', the information dates back hundreds, if not thousands of years, and with the melting of so many glaciers, scientists are desperately trying to drill for the data while the ice is still intact.
However, it's already having devastating effects, with scientists discovering that the water is washing away crucial compounds.
“If you imagine an ice core like a book containing important information, what is happening is almost like someone has spilled a cup of tea all over the pages,” Moser explained.
“We are in a crucial timeframe before the records are lost entirely. I’m trying to understand whether and how we can still make sense of the information that we have.
“I’m intent on showing that we can still make sense of this. The melting of ice cores is a big issue and we need to raise the alarm – but we also can’t give up on them completely yet.”
Elsewhere, scientists are also keeping an eye on the 'Doomsday Glacier'.
Also known by its scientific - and less exciting - name, Thwaites Glacier, the glacier floats at the northern edge of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and measures 120 km (80 miles) in width, which is about as big as the UK,
According to Forbes, melting ice and breakaways from Thwaites already account for around '10 percent' of global sea level rise at the moment. If it collapsed entirely then sea levels could rise by as much as two feet.
Perhaps more worryingly is the fact that Thwaites could pull other glaciers and antarctic lakes down with it, which Science Focus believes would add three metres to our oceans.
Topics: News, Environment, Ocean, Science
Lucy Devine