Antarctica is of great interest to scientists as it is a totally unspoilt landscape where they can study the effects of climate change. Since 2006, researchers from Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the US have been drilling through ice, water and rock to recover core samples in a programme known as the Antarctic Drilling Project (ANDRIL). Their research has been pivotal in laying bare the true effects of climate change on the continent.
It was revealed during NOVA’s “Secrets of Antarctica” how drilling into the ice to reveal Antarctica’s past, can help lay out the future of Earth.
The narrator revealed in the 2015 documentary: “For longer than humans have walked the planet, ice had dominated Antarctica.
“But what about the future? As Earth gets warmer, what will happen to Antarctica?
“Today, a pioneering team is searching for answers, with a bold new plan and a revolutionary new machine.
“They must drill down almost a mile, more than 20 million years deep into Antarctica’s ancient history.
“The stakes are high, because the secret to Earth’s future lies buried in Antarctica’s past.”
Richard Levy, who works on the project, detailed how the drill marked the start of what was a huge achievement.
He said: “It’s an astonishing feat – it’s quite amazing when you think about where we are and what we are doing.
“We’ve got a drill rig, a 60 tonne to 90 tonnes with all the equipment for a drill rig sitting behind us on eight meters of sea ice above 38 metres of water.
“And then we are drilling down into the seafloor below there with a three to four-inch diameter pipe that’s turning round and round like a piece of spaghetti hanging down through the water and into the ground.
“Then we’re bringing the core up from deep within the Earth – anything can go wrong at any minute with this process.”
The documentary also noted some of the amazing discoveries made thus far, including one that was “more valuable than gold”.
The series explained: “They recover a 12-foot length of core, wrap it in a protective cover before workers carefully carry it back to the lab to be examined.
“When they crack it open, it’s in perfect condition.
“This mud and rock is more valuable than gold because each core is a time machine.
We’re currently down to the depth of body 440 metres, that’s about a quarter-mile down corresponding to a time at least 15 million years ago when Antarctica was still warm.
“As the cores are recovered, each section is sliced lengthwise, X-rayed and scanned in labs at the drill site and back at McMurdo.”
Matt Curren, from the Antarctica Research Facility, revealed why the samples are so important to the team.
He said: “This core came out of the ground three days ago, they were split yesterday, they were imaged yesterday.
“Sedimentologists worked the night shifts – 12 hours – describing them millimetre by millimetre.
“Looking at the colour, size, ratios, any kind of structure they see in a core.
“[They are] trying to understand how these sediments were deposited.”
