The oldest ice on Earth has been found: it is 5 million years old, and this is a record

To learn about the future of the Earth's climate, geologists study its past. To do this, scientists examine samples from

deep ice cores. Recently, researchers at the University of North Dakota dated the oldest of them. Some fragments are more than 5 million years old.

Researchers have recovered an ice core from the Ong Valley in Antarctica. Photo: Jaakko Putkonen

The sample was taken from the Ong Valley in Antarctica, ancientthe ice was relatively close to the surface, protected by a layer of rock. In the summers of 2017 and 2018 in the Southern Hemisphere, the team drilled a 9.5 m long ice core and has since analyzed the age of the material at different depths.

Researchers studied isotope accumulationberyllium, neon and aluminum throughout the core. They appear as a result of the action of high-energy cosmic rays on rocky material. Their concentration tells us when the layer was last exposed on the surface.

A section of the Antarctic ice core that may be the oldest in the world.
Photo: Jaakko Putkonen

Based on this, a team of expertscalculated that the core consists of two large ice masses stacked on top of each other, which were formed as a result of two separate glaciations. The age of the upper part is estimated at about 3 million years, and the lower part is estimated at 4.3 to 5.1 million years. This is almost twice as old as the previous record holder—2.7 million years.

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Cover photo: flickr