Last Update: 04/05/2026 at 2:50 PM EST
Antarctic Cores Extend Climate History
Coverage from Record Core Brings New Insights into West Antarctica, Phys, and others
Articles
6
Latest Article
03/25
Active Days
45
Executive Summary
New Antarctic and Greenland cores extend climate records, revealing past warming, ocean change, and ice sheet sensitivity to warming
- A 228 meter sediment core was drilled beneath Crary Ice Rise in West Antarctica
- The core reaches back up to 23 million years and preserves mud and shell fragments
- Findings show open ocean once existed where about 500 meters of ice sits today
- The West Antarctic Ice Sheet could raise sea level by 4 to 5 meters if it fully melted
- Satellite data already show accelerated mass loss from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
- Two Nature papers used Allan Hills ice to reconstruct 3 million years of climate history
- Ancient ice suggests ocean temperatures fell 2 to 2.5 C while CO2 stayed below 300 ppm
Quick Facts
- What: Drilled and analyzed sediment and ice cores
- Where: West Antarctica East Antarctica and northern Greenland
- Why: To reconstruct past climate and improve sea level projections
- Who: International Antarctic and Arctic research teams
- When: Fieldwork and studies reported in 2024 to 2026
Coverage Timeline: 45 Days
Featured Article
Scientists drill a long sediment core beneath Crary Ice Rise in West Antarctica during 2025/26 to inform climate models and sea level projections.
Additional Articles
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Scientists used Antarctic ice from Allan Hills to reconstruct ocean temperature and atmospheric CO2 and methane over 3 million years in two Nature studies.
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Scientists retrieved a 23-million-year sediment record from beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, linking West Antarctica retreat to modest past warming and projecting accelerating sea-level rise from human-caused warming.
Oregon State University researchers report Antarctic ice-core measurements extending to about 3 million years and finding lower CO2 than earlier estimates, affecting CO2 sensitivity assumptions.
Bates College researchers collect Wandel Dal lake sediment cores in Peary Land Greenland during 2024 field season to study past Arctic climate.
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Researchers map a 100 km subglacial structure beneath Antarctica to improve climate models and sea level projections.