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There might be endless mysteries waiting out there in the universe, but if you think about it, there’s also no shortage of places left to explore right here on earth.
There are deep jungles, tall mountains, endless oceans, and yes, the miles and miles of discoveries waiting to be made beneath the earth’s crust.
Scientists are hoping to solve at least one of them – the age of the ice under Antarctica – with a simple(ish) camera.
Image Credit: COLDEX
A team of scientists is working on just that at the South Pole, as they dig deep to capture samples from some of the oldest ice on Earth.
One of the scientists on the project, a Scripps graduate student named Austin Carter, recently shared a fun time-lapse video on Facebook.
The color and texture of the ice changes as the age grows older and older, and you can’t help but feel as if you’re zooming through history.
The borehole, which is around 305 feet deep, was made for the Center for Oldest Ice Exploration, or COLDEX. Oregon State University is leading the project, which is exploring the Allan Hills of East Antarctica, and hope to collect data about ancient climate records via the ice.
Image Credit: COLDEX
They’re using ice core samples, ice-penetrating radar, and airplane surveys to analyze dust and ancient gas bubbles in an attempt to learn more about how the climate has changed over millions of years.
It’s one more way scientists are hoping to learn from the past in order to prevent a catastrophe from happening again.
Image Credit: COLDEX
Maybe they figure the more types of evidence they gather, the more likely leaders are to listen to them.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see on that front.
