Record-breaking sediment core may help predict Antarctic ice loss
An international research team has recovered the longest sediment core ever drilled from beneath an ice sheet. The core preserves evidence of climate changes spanning millions of years and will help improve predictions of how the West Antarctic Ice Sheet may respond to ongoing global warming.
Some 700 kilometres from the nearest Antarctic stations, researchers drilled through 523 metres of ice at Crary Ice Rise, on the margin of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. They extracted a record-breaking sediment core measuring 228 metres in length, composed of layers of mud and rock. This geological archive documents environmental conditions during earlier warm periods in Earth's history — information that is crucial for estimating how quickly the region’s ice might melt in a warmer future.
If the West Antarctic Ice Sheet were to melt completely, global sea level would rise by four to five metres, according to scientific estimates. Until now, projections of how the ice sheet might respond to further warming relied mainly on satellite observations and geological records collected next to the ice sheet, below floating ice shelves, sea ice and in the open Ross Sea and Southern Ocean.
