My First View of Ice Cores
Yesterday, after my African American History presentation to the Bureau of Reclamation, I receive an unexpected gift.
The librarian reminds me that the National Ice Core Lab is nearby. I head over and get a tour from Richard Nunn, Assistant Curator and Geologist of the ice cores. What a knowledgeable resource, he is! This lab stores the world's collection of ice cores in a room -36°F. My interest is of course the Byrd expeditions. In the very back, where the temperature, with windchill, was about -60°F ( Calculated from the old formula- On November 1, 2001, a new formula was adopted, which makes it a little warmer :-).
We're there for about 10 minutes. It takes me an hour to warm up! Totally worth it.
The tubes from the 1940s and 50s are made from metal. The new tubes are cardboard.
They keep the first ice cores, from Admiral Byrd's 1947 expedition for posterity sake. Since the most of the air is gone from the samples, the data they collect isn't accurate.
What a thrill to see the cores, with ice anywhere from 10,000 to 70,000 years old.
In the summer, the faculty plays in the thousands of year old 'snow' from the shavings they discard. My mind is racing with climate science questions and possibilities!
The librarian reminds me that the National Ice Core Lab is nearby. I head over and get a tour from Richard Nunn, Assistant Curator and Geologist of the ice cores. What a knowledgeable resource, he is! This lab stores the world's collection of ice cores in a room -36°F. My interest is of course the Byrd expeditions. In the very back, where the temperature, with windchill, was about -60°F ( Calculated from the old formula- On November 1, 2001, a new formula was adopted, which makes it a little warmer :-).
We're there for about 10 minutes. It takes me an hour to warm up! Totally worth it.
The tubes from the 1940s and 50s are made from metal. The new tubes are cardboard.
They keep the first ice cores, from Admiral Byrd's 1947 expedition for posterity sake. Since the most of the air is gone from the samples, the data they collect isn't accurate.
What a thrill to see the cores, with ice anywhere from 10,000 to 70,000 years old.
In the summer, the faculty plays in the thousands of year old 'snow' from the shavings they discard. My mind is racing with climate science questions and possibilities!