Climate science Valuable Antarctic ice will arrive in Bern in midsummer
Researchers at the University of Bern are expecting a unique scientific treasure in August: parts of the oldest ice core ever recovered from the Antarctic will arrive in Switzerland in midsummer, as they announced to the media on Wednesday.
15.01.2025, 11:11
SDA
The 2.8-kilometer-long ice core contains climate data dating back over 1.2 million years. It was successfully recovered at the beginning of the year. In the ice laboratory at the University of Bern, researchers will analyze gases such as CO2 and methane in the ice in order to obtain information on the climate during this period.
This requires precision, said Hubertus Fischer, who is leading the Swiss investigations. "We are very meticulous about this," said the researcher. The university is ready. "Our methods have been extensively tested." Parts of the ice are being analyzed by other universities in Europe.
At the moment, the ice cores are still in the Antarctic. They will soon be loaded into special refrigerated containers on an Italian research vessel, which will bring the cores to Europe.
