Scientists from Italy, France and other European countries started the research in 2019, and it will last seven years.
“Recently, within the framework of the project “Beyond Epica”, the drilling season in the “Little Dome C” field has ended. This was a very successful season and we reached a depth of 808 meters. The work took place in very difficult weather conditions, as the air temperature was between -50 and -35 degrees,” said Professor Carlo Barbante of the University of Venice.
Glaciologists plan to reach a depth of 2,700 meters. The obtained “oldest” world ice will provide information about the changes in air temperature and the concentration of greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide and methane – in the atmosphere over the last one and a half million years.
The currently obtained samples were formed about 50 thousand years ago, when the so-called ice age reigned in Europe, it was inhabited by Neanderthals and the first ancestors of modern humans appeared in our part of the world.
The project is really ambitious, and the European Commission has also allocated 11 million euros for its implementation.
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