The IPICS «oldest ice» challenge: a new technology to qualify potential sites

Статья принята к печати 25 октября 2012 г. Antarctica, glacial-interglacial cycles, CO 2 , ice core drilling. Антарктида, СО 2 , керновое бурение льда, ледниковые–межледниковые циклы. Among the priorities of the International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences (IPICS) core project of Past Global Changes (IGBP/PAGES), drilling ice as old as 1.5 million years is probably the most emblematic challenge. The search for a potential site in Antarctica hosting such old ice in good stratigraphic order is under way. Here we propose an innovative way to rapidly qualify potential sites. We plan to build a probe able to drill down to bedrock within one fi eld season. The probe will embed a laser optical instrument measuring in real time key parameters such as the water isotopic composition of the ice and the concentration of one or more greenhouse gases.