Several decades ago, the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica, EPICA, was launched in Antarctica.
The work involved drilling into the glacier to obtain rock samples from the lowest part of the Antarctic ice sheet. To do this, it was necessary to reach a depth of 3200 meters.
According to scientists, the ice core stores information about events occurring on Earth 800 thousand years ago, British Antarctic Survey.
This knowledge is necessary for researchers to understand the processes of evolution of the planet’s biosphere.
In 2019, a new project was launched – Beyond Epica-Oldest Ice.
Now geologists intend to drill to the depths where more ancient masses of ice lie, the history of which is estimated at 1.5 million years.
Such an ancient sample will make it possible to obtain information about the climate and the concentration of greenhouse gases during the period of the “Middle Pleistocene transition 900-1200 thousand years ago.”
Employees of the Institute of Polar Sciences of the National Research Council of Italy are busy with the work.
Drilling has already begun, and for this purpose a site has been selected in the area of Small Dome S.
It is located 34 kilometers from the Concordia station, where Italian and French polar explorers live.
It is planned to drill a shaft 2,700 meters deep, but so far the researchers have only gone through the first 130 meters.
