Dating and Paleoenvironmental Studies on Ancient Ice in the Dry Valleys, Antarctica

• Main Author: Bender, Michael
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: IEDA: US Antarctic Program Data Center 2014
• Subjects: Isotope record; Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Glaciology; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Paleoclimate; Antarctica; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Cryosphere; Geochemistry; Dry Valleys; Lake Vostok; US Antarctic Program Data Center (USAP-DC); Antarctic; Antarc*; ice core; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: http://get.iedadata.org/metadata/iso/600069

Abstract: This project studies ancient ice buried in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica. The ice, which may approach ten million years in age, will be dated using argon and uranium radioisotope techniques. High-risk work, if successful it will offer the first and perhaps only samples of the Earth's atmosphere from millions of years in the past. These samples could offer critically important tests of paleoclimate records and proxies, as well as a glimpse into the characteristics of a past world much like the predicted future, warmer Earth. The broader impacts are graduate student education, and potentially contributing to society's understanding of global climate change and sea level rise.