00:00This ice was recently drilled out of the Antarctic continent, and while it's impressive in size,
00:08its scientific significance cannot be overstated.
00:11That's because not only is it the longest core of ice ever yanked out of the ice sheet,
00:15measuring nearly 2 miles in length, but it will also provide unprecedented climate data
00:20going back millions of years.
00:22The whole thing, if laid on its side, stretches some 2,800 meters, or 9,186 feet long, which
00:29Scientillate reports is greater than the length of the Golden Gate Bridge.
00:33Every meter of the ice core contains 13,000 years of climate data, meaning this core could
00:38provide unbroken information dating back 1.2 million years, with some speculating the data
00:44could detail a time as far back as 2.5 million years.
00:47For the uninitiated, our previous best for a vertical core dates back just 740,000 years,
00:53and while experts have captured singular samples which go back 2.7 million years, those samples
00:58were broken, meaning they did not contain a continuous historical record, more like
01:02a snapshot.
01:03This new sample could finally reveal to scientists what happened in Africa in early human communities,
01:08where it is suspected some 99% of our species was wiped out due to cold periods.
01:13With director on the project, Carlo Barbante, telling CNN, this transition remains a scientific
01:18mystery, particularly regarding the role of greenhouse gases and ice sheet dynamics.
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