ice cores
Glacial time capsules
Ice cores are cylindrical samples of ice drilled from glaciers or ice sheets, used by scientists to study past climate conditions.
Air bubbles trapped in the ice preserve atmospheric composition from thousands of years ago, while layers reveal annual snowfall patterns.
Analysis of Antarctic ice cores has provided data on carbon dioxide levels going back 800,000 years.
Study of prehistoric climates
- oxygen isotopesNuclear variants of element eight
- greenhouse gasesEmissions that trap heat
- carbon dioxideRespiration byproduct, photosynthesis fuel
- methaneSimplest alkane fuel
Holocene · Pleistocene · interglacial · Milankovitch cycles · dust particles · volcanic ash · sea level · deuterium
Atomic number twins
- geochemistryEarth's chemical makeup science
- mass spectrometryMeasures ionic weight ratios
- radiometric datingAge measurement via atomic decay
- trace elementsSubstances required minimally
aerosols · microfossils · chronology · sulfate · nitrate · electrical conductivity · gas extraction · impurities
Year-old compacting snow
- accumulationCollected mass over time
- ablationRemoval by cutting, melting
- cryosphereEarth's frozen water systems
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
drilling · compaction · snowpack · densification · Greenland · Antarctica · Vostok
Hole-making by rotation
- boreholeDrilled underground passage
- retrievalAct of getting back
- field campTemporary outdoor research station
- storageSpace for keeping goods
depth measurement · handling · transportation · curation · archive
paleoclimatology
Study of prehistoric climates
- oxygen isotopesNuclear variants of element eight
- greenhouse gasesEmissions that trap heat
- carbon dioxideRespiration byproduct, photosynthesis fuel
methane · Holocene · Pleistocene · interglacial · Milankovitch cycles · dust particles · volcanic ash · sea level · deuterium · Younger Dryas
isotopes
Atomic number twins
- geochemistryEarth's chemical makeup science
- mass spectrometryMeasures ionic weight ratios
- radiometric datingAge measurement via atomic decay
trace elements · aerosols · microfossils · chronology · sulfate · nitrate · electrical conductivity · gas extraction · impurities · chemistry
firn
Year-old compacting snow
- accumulationCollected mass over time
- ablationRemoval by cutting, melting
- cryosphereEarth's frozen water systems
stratigraphy · drilling · compaction · snowpack · densification · Greenland · Antarctica · Vostok
drilling
Hole-making by rotation
- boreholeDrilled underground passage
- retrievalAct of getting back
- field campTemporary outdoor research station
storage · depth measurement · handling · transportation · curation · archive
- Polar Resourcesfreshwater, icebergs, polar bear, polar bears, walrus
- paleosciencespaleontology, paleobiology, paleobotany, paleoclimatology, paleoecology
- AntarcticaSouth Pole, Amundsen, Scott, penguins, glaciology
- ArcticArctic Circle, Arctic Ocean, Arctic wildlife, Arctic exploration, Arctic research
- Ice Agemammoths, saber-tooth cat, mammoth, woolly mammoth, Pleistocene
- polar regionsAntarctica, polar bears, Arctic Ocean, glaciers, Arctic