Beyond EPICA Oldest Ice Core: 1,5 Myr of greenhouse gas - climate feedbacks (H2020-LC-CLA-2018-2; GA no. 815384) (DTA.AD001.280)

Thematic area

Earth system science and environmental technologies

Project area

Structure responsible for the research project

Istituto di Scienze Polari (ISP)

Project manager

CARLO BARBANTE
Phone number: 0412348942
Email: barbante@unive.it

Abstract

To better constrain the long-term response of Earth's climate system to continuing greenhouse gas emissions, it is essential to turn to the past. A key advance would be to understand the shift in Earth's climate response to orbital forcing during the 'Mid-Pleistocene transition' [MPT, 900,000 (900 kyr) to 1.2 million years (1.2 Myr) ago], when a dominant 40 kyr cyclicity gave way to the current 100 kyr period. It is critical to understand the role of forcing factors and especially of greenhouse gases in this transition. Unravelling such key linkages between the carbon cycle, ice sheets, atmosphere and ocean behaviour is vital, assisting society to design an effective mitigation and adaptation strategy for climate change. Only ice cores contain direct and quantitative information about past climate forcing and atmospheric responses. However, the longest (EPICA) ice core record available to date covers only the last 800 kyr. The RIA Topic LC-CLA-08-2018 empowers the European ice core community to perform such an oldest ice core drilling and the project 'Beyond EPICA' is taking on this unique challenge and opportunity.

Start date of activity

01/06/2019

Keywords

Cryosphere, dynamics of snow and ice cover, Climatology and climate change

Last update: 02/05/2024