Duncan Young is a research associate professor at the Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) at University of Texas at Austin. He’s guided an adventurous quest to chart a largely untouched area of East Antarctica. Since 2021, Young and his team have been active participants in the National Science Foundation’s COLDEX initiative. With the help of airborne radar technology, they have made some remarkable discoveries in the Allan Hills area west of the South Pole.
The inspired researchers set out on a lofty endeavor. Their objective was to link the Allan Hills area to Little Dome C. European scientists are currently conducting ice core drill tests at Little Dome C. Their goal is to find proof of earth’s climate history that exceeds the known record of 800,000 years. Until today, the oldest continuous ice core samples have only reached this period. The ice is filled with ancient chemicals and bubbles of air that are critical to our understanding of how climate has changed in the past.
Young’s team ran their surveys from a heavily modified DC-3 aircraft, built for the rugged scientific missions in icy environments. While flying, they mapped out their basal unit. This layer is the oldest ice discovered so far, located in a deep, wide basin at the South Pole. This discovery is especially important given the times. This points to the basal unit playing a key role in still protecting ancient ice from the melting processes now overtaking the region.
The Allan Hills region itself is unique in that it contains discontinuous ice that is over five million years old. Why these findings are important Beyond exploration alone, these findings are significant. Their data and analysis will continue to provide irreplaceable wisdom about the climatic trajectory of our globe. Young and his colleagues have successfully gone beyond the 800,000-year barrier for the oldest ice core samples. Together, they’re trying to collect crucial data that might change the way we think about climate history.
The results of the study have been recently published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. This new publication illustrates the significant continuing research needs in this remote and important part of the world. These results highlight the extraordinary scientific potential that lies within East Antarctica. They do a nice job emphasizing the commitment of researchers such as Duncan Young to understand the secrets that lie below its icy veneer.