In a historic feat, scientists have successfully extracted the longest-ever core of rock from beneath Greenland’s vast ice sheet. The GreenDrill project, with a budget of $7 million, achieved this breakthrough by drilling through 509 meters of ice at Prudhoe Dome, unearthing 7.4 meters of frozen sediment and rock. This achievement not only provides valuable insights into the island’s historical ice stability but also offers clues about its potential contributions to sea-level rise.
The core, exposed to air at some point in the past three million years, presents a unique opportunity to understand Greenland’s complex environmental history. Preliminary analysis reveals high levels of beryllium-10, a radioactive isotope formed when rock is exposed to cosmic rays and air. The extensive presence of beryllium-10, approximately corresponding to 40,000 years of exposure, suggests repeated ice-free periods over the past few million years.
While the findings are still in the preliminary stage and require further confirmation, the data indicates that Greenland could have contributed between 19 and 73 centimeters of global sea-level rise. This insight is crucial for predicting future sea-level changes as the planet continues to warm.
The GreenDrill project’s success is noteworthy not only for its scientific implications but also for the technical challenges overcome in drilling through the ice and extracting an extensive core of bedrock material. The initiative provides a critical foundation for advancing our understanding of ice-sheet dynamics and their role in shaping Earth’s climate over geological timescales.
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Reference: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-04002-5
