About this video

• Video Title: Time Traveling Through Ancient Ice to Predict The Future | WIRED
• Channel: WIRED UK
• Speakers: Greg Williams, Alison Criscitiello
• Duration: 00:13:59

Overview

This video features an interview with ice core scientist Alison Criscitiello, who explains the significance of ice cores in understanding past climate and predicting future climate patterns, particularly sea level rise. The conversation also delves into the extreme logistical and physical challenges of drilling ice cores in remote, high-altitude locations like Mount Logan, highlighting the specialized expertise and support required for such expeditions.

Key takeaways

• Ice Cores as Climate Archives: Ice cores provide a unique record of Earth's past climate, containing trapped atmospheric gases and chemical evidence that help scientists reconstruct historical environmental conditions.
• Predicting Future Sea Level Rise: Analyzing ice cores is crucial for constraining projections of future sea level rise, a significant consequence of climate change.
• Challenges of Ice Core Drilling: Expeditions to retrieve ice cores, especially in high-altitude regions like Mount Logan, involve immense logistical hurdles, including extreme weather, difficult terrain, altitude sickness, and the transportation of heavy drilling equipment.
• Specialized Team and Support: Successful ice core expeditions require a highly specialized team with diverse expertise, including mountaineering, drilling engineering, and climate science, as well as significant financial and logistical support from organizations.
• Communicating Climate Science: Criscitiello emphasizes the importance of communicating scientific findings to a wider audience to inform climate action and future planning.