(01-24) 17:04 PST TOKYO, Japan (AP) --
A team of Japanese researchers drilling on Antarctica has recovered what is believed to be the oldest sample of ice ever ? possibly dating back 1 million years, officials said Tuesday.
The ice sample was taken from a depth of 9,994 feet into the Antarctic ice sheet near the Japanese camp at Fuji Dome, according to Yuji Umezaki, an official with the education and science ministry.
The oldest sample yet recovered from Antarctica was 800,000 years old. That sample was collected by a team of scientists from the European Union.
Umezaki said the ice sample is important because it contains ancient air that was trapped in bubbles as the snows piled up deeper and deeper above. By studying the mix of gasses inside the air, scientists can follow changes in the composition of the earth's atmosphere.
The ice will be brought to Japan aboard the Shirase research vessel in April this year.
The Japanese have been drilling near Fuji Dome since 2003.
***Thoughts
Prehaps this sample will settle or confirm the following scientific dispute:-
The authors state that "change in the carbon dioxide concentration of the atmosphere is commonly regarded as a likely forcing mechanism on global climate over geological time because of its large and predictable effect on temperature," which "predictable effect" is that increases in atmospheric CO2 concentration cause higher temperatures to occur and that decreases in atmospheric CO2 concentration cause lower temperatures to occur. THEIR DATA, HOWEVER, CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE THAT THIS INCREDIBLY COMMON ASSUMPTION IS JUST PLAIN FALSE.
>PS. I'll bet President G.Bush read that?
(Many Links to 'CO2 SCIENCE')...below
http://www.co2science.org/scripts/CO2ScienceB2C/articles/V3/N23/C1.jsp
