Treasure trove of ancient air dating back to the 1870s discovered in Antarctica

Treasure trove of ancient air dating back to the 1870s is discovered in Antarctica that could reveal how the atmosphere has changed over the last 150 years

  • Scientists in Antarctica found more than 194 cubic feet of preserve air samples
  • The air samples came from ice samples drilled out of the surface over a half-mile
  • The team will use the samples to learn more about greenhouse gases in history 

A team of researchers in Antarctica have extracted more than 194 cubic feet of air that was trapped beneath the surface ice.

According to Peter Neff, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington who worked on the team, the samples represent the largest collection of air dating from the 1870s. 

The researchers sought out the air samples to learn more about the composition of the atmosphere throughout history, and specifically measure changes in the amount of greenhouse gases.

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Researchers in Antarctica have collected preserve air samples trapped in ice that date as far back as 1875

To collect the samples, the researchers drilled six boreholes across a half-mile stretch of Antarctica, and extracted over 11,000 pounds of ice in columnar segments.

They took the ice samples back to a laboratory and melted it in a specially designed vacuum chamber, surrounded by water set to 122 degrees Fahrenheit.

The released released over 194 cubic feet of gases, which provide a pure atmospheric sample ranging from as far back as 1875 to 2010.

‘It’s probably the most extreme atmospheric chemistry you can do from ice core samples, and the logistics were also extreme,’ Neff told University of Washington News.

The researchers, which also included scientists from the University of Rochester, are interested in specifically learning how much hydroxyl there is in the environment at different points over the last 150 years.

Hydroxyl is sometimes called a ‘detergent’ gas because it can break down other greenhouse gases and then reform itself.

The team of scientists will analyze the samples to measure the levels of hydroxyl, a gas that helps remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere

The team of scientists will analyze the samples to measure the levels of hydroxyl, a gas that helps remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere

Hydroxyl is a very short-lived gas so it’s hard to directly measure its presence.

Instead, the team will look for carbon-14 monoxide, a gas that’s specifically destroyed by hydroxyl and is commonly found in gas bubbles that form in the space between freezing water particles.

The team collected more than 11,000 pounds of ice that was then melted in a vacuum chamber

The team collected more than 11,000 pounds of ice that was then melted in a vacuum chamber

‘Any glacier in the world is going to have that bubbly texture, because it started as a pile of six-fingered snowflakes, and between those fingers is air,’ Neff said.

The team hope that when they complete their analysis they’ll gain new insights about how the atmosphere has regulated greenhouse gases over time.