Global projects save disappearing glacier cores in Antarctica

[Anchor]

Glaciers are valuable research materials that contain records of past climates, but they are rapidly disappearing due to global warming.

In response, an international project is underway to collect glacier samples from around the world and store them in Antarctica.

Our meteorology specialist, Shin Bang-sil, has the report.

[Report]

This is the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean.

Drilling operations are in full swing on the glacier covered in white snow.

Ice columns, known as 'glacier cores,' are being extracted vertically from deep within the glacier.

Since glaciers form over long periods, they contain climate records from their time, making them important materials for studying long-term climate changes.

[Jacopo Gabrieli/Glaciologist, Italian National Research Council: "Inside these bubbles are trapped air at the moment of the snowfall. You can look at the chemical composition of the atmosphere at the moment of the snowfall."]

Drilling has also taken place in the Andes Mountains, where fierce snowstorms rage.

By securing glacier cores that were formed 8,000 years ago, researchers can now examine climate changes since the last Ice Age.

Recently, an international research team has been working on a project to collect these glacier cores from around the world and store them collectively for future generations.

This is due to the accelerated global warming that is causing glaciers to disappear rapidly.

[Han Young-cheol/Head Researcher, Glacier Environment Research Division, Korea Polar Research Institute: "Just like historical records can be ruined if they get wet, glacier cores can also be damaged if the upper part of the glacier melts and the water seeps in, making it difficult to obtain meaningful information..."]

So far, drilling has been conducted at eight glaciers, including those in the Arctic, the Alps, and the Andes, with plans to expand the number of drilling sites to 20 in the future.

The collected glacier cores will be transported to Antarctica starting next year and stored in underground ice caves where the average annual temperature is below minus 50 degrees Celsius.

This is KBS News, Shin Bang-sil.