Beyond EPICA—Oldest Ice

Beyond EPICA—Oldest Ice
Name	Beyond EPICA—Oldest Ice
Caption	Ice-core drilling campaign in Antarctica
Country	Antarctica
Established	2016
Operator	European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica consortium
Type	Scientific drilling project

Beyond EPICA—Oldest Ice

Beyond EPICA—Oldest Ice is an international Antarctic ice-core initiative aiming to recover the longest continuous climate record from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. The project builds on earlier efforts by the European Union-backed EPICA collaboration and involves a consortium of research institutes including the Alfred Wegener Institute, British Antarctic Survey, Université Libre de Bruxelles, University of Bern, and National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research. The program links polar science, glaciology, and paleoclimatology to resolve climate variability over the past million years.

Background and objectives

Beyond EPICA—Oldest Ice was conceived after the completion of the EPICA Dome C core and the Vostok ice record, with objectives articulated at meetings of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research and workshops hosted by the European Science Foundation and International Glaciological Society. The principal goal is to obtain an ice core spanning at least 1.2 million years to extend insights from the Mid-Pleistocene Transition and provide constraints complementary to marine records from the Ocean Drilling Program and Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. Stakeholders include the European Commission, Swiss National Science Foundation, Natural Environment Research Council, Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, and national polar programs such as the Italian National Antarctic Research Program and Australian Antarctic Division.

Site selection and drilling locations

Site reconnaissance involved airborne radar surveys by teams from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Polar Research Institute of China, Russian Antarctic Expedition, and the United States Antarctic Program. Candidate sites included locations near Dome C, Dome Fuji, and the Siple Coast, but the final site was chosen following collaboration among the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat, Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs, and national field parties. Geophysical datasets from the European Space Agency's satellite missions and field campaigns run by the German Aerospace Center and University of Tokyo informed the selection of a high-elevation, low-accumulation plateau with simple basal conditions, negotiated with logistical partners such as the Port of Hobart and McMurdo Station supply chains.

Methodology and technology

Drilling employed intermediate-depth and deep drilling rigs adapted from technologies developed by the Ice Core Working Group and manufacturers in Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. The program used hot-water and electro-mechanical drill systems alongside borehole logging instruments from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Scott Polar Research Institute. Analytic protocols integrated isotopic methods from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of Cambridge, trace gas analyses performed at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and CNRS, and micro-particle counting techniques from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Age modeling applied Bayesian frameworks developed at Princeton University and ETH Zurich, and data archiving followed standards set by PANGAEA and the World Data Center for Paleoclimatology.

Chronology and core stratigraphy

The project's chronology relies on multiple age markers including volcanic horizons correlated to the Toba eruption, cosmogenic nuclide events tied to the Greenland Ice Core Project stratigraphy, and paleomagnetic excursions cross-referenced with the IntCal radiocarbon calibration and marine isotope stratigraphy from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory. Core stratigraphy shows alternating layers of firn and ice, variable dust content comparable to records from EPICA Dome C and Dome Fuji, and trapped-gas horizons that record greenhouse gases through glacial–interglacial cycles studied by groups at the University of Bern and University of Copenhagen.

Paleoclimate findings and significance

Preliminary results have implications for understanding the Mid-Pleistocene Transition and pacing of glacial cycles, complementing marine sediment records from the International Ocean Discovery Program and climate model outputs used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Gas concentrations in enclosed bubbles provide context for abrupt events examined in studies by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and PAGES (Past Global Changes) community, while isotopic proxies link to regional climate patterns investigated by the Royal Society-supported projects and the Australian Research Council. The extended record refines constraints on carbon dioxide and methane forcings relevant to assessments by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and historical reconstructions by the British Geological Survey.

Challenges and logistical operations

Field operations required coordination among logistics specialists from Norwegian Polar Institute, Comando Sur, Canadian Space Agency-supported teams, and national Antarctic programs including Institut polaire français Paul-Émile Victor and Korean Polar Research Institute. Challenges included extreme weather similar to conditions at Vostok Station and supply-chain complexities managed with aircraft from Polar Air Cargo and overland traverse systems developed by the United States Antarctic Program and Australian Antarctic Division. Environmental stewardship followed protocols of the Antarctic Treaty and scientific guidance from the International Council for Science, while health and safety measures aligned with standards from the World Health Organization and national research councils.

Category:Antarctic expeditions