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Ice of millions of years buried in the depths of Antarctica could contain crucial information about the planet's past and contribute to climate forecasts.
And scientists based in Tasmania are about to find out.
The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) unveiled Monday a specialized exercise designed to reach three kilometers below the surface of the frozen continent.
"What we will undertake over the next few years is to solve one of the last big problems in climate science," said glaciologist Tas van Ommen.
The ice, which could be up to 1.5 million years old, is the subject of several international research projects.
"We will see in the ice tiny bubbles trapped between the snowflakes as it is buried," van Ommen said.
"These little bubbles are time capsules of the past atmosphere.
"We want to get this ice cream, analyze these weather capsules and understand what (carbon dioxide) did during that time, about a million years ago, when the climate was changing."
About a million years ago, Earth went from a 40,000 year cycle to a 100,000 year cycle, said Dr. van Ommen.
"Carbon dioxide is linked to this change and it is changing the speed with which ice ages have worked in the past," he added.
"We need to understand if the CO2 we release into the atmosphere will have long-term consequences for the Earth in the future."
The drill, made of stainless steel, aluminum bronze and titanium, is a blend of international and Australian technology and can withstand minus 55 degrees Celsius.
But reaching the buried ice will not be an easy or fast feat.
Drilling is expected to begin in 2021 and last four years.
A 500-ton mobile base will transport equipment to the site 1,200 km from the Antarctic coast.
"We are sending men and women into the most remote extreme environment on the planet," said AAD director Kim Ellis.
"It's a really difficult adventure."
Australian Associated Press
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