Ice Core Climate Evidence
Explore how Antarctic and Greenland ice cores reveal 800,000 years of climate history
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0 / 5 completedWhy Ice Cores Are Special
Ice cores are essentially frozen time capsules. As snow falls on Antarctica and Greenland, it traps tiny air bubbles. Over thousands of years, layers of snow compress into ice, preserving samples of ancient atmosphere. By drilling deep into ice sheets, scientists extract cylinders of ice up to 3 kilometers long, revealing climate conditions spanning 800,000 years.
What makes ice cores uniquely valuable is that they contain direct samples of ancient air—not indirect proxies. We can literally measure CO₂, methane, and temperature from hundreds of thousands of years ago with remarkable precision.
🎯Interactive Ice Core Drill
Sample Data
Ice Core Visualization
💡 What This Shows
You are viewing the current interglacial period (Holocene). CO₂ levels remained stable around 280 ppm until industrial revolution.
Key Discoveries from Ice Cores
Ice Age Cycles
Driven by Earth's orbital variations (Milankovitch cycles), but amplified by CO₂ feedbacks
Temperature-CO₂ Link
Shows CO₂ acts as both a feedback and a forcing in natural climate change
Rapid Climate Shifts
Climate system can shift abruptly, challenging gradual change assumptions
Unprecedented CO₂
Modern humans evolved when CO₂ never exceeded 300 ppm—we're in uncharted territory
Major Ice Core Projects
EPICA Dome C
Key Achievement: Longest continuous climate record, revealing 8 complete glacial cycles
Vostok
Key Achievement: First to show tight CO₂-temperature correlation over multiple ice ages
GISP2
Key Achievement: Revealed rapid climate shifts (Dansgaard-Oeschger events) within decades