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I'm not a scientist so I'm curious why this is interesting.

p1esk 3y ago
Presumably because we can find well preserved organisms from that time.
downWidOutaFite 3y ago
It's not scientifically interesting, the glacial-interglacial cycles are pretty well established. I'm guessing they're trying to insinuate some climate change minimalism argument.
- mensetmanusman 3y ago
  It’s interesting to know how far back in time the ice will allow them to analyze once they get to the base.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
snowwrestler 3y ago
I think people who are not already familiar with the known history of the Earth find it interesting that there have been higher CO2 levels and temps than there are now. And I agree: the history of the Earth is interesting. Which is why so many people study and work in the field of geology.
rolph 3y ago
the drilling allows sampling of environmental components over extended period of time. this meas a historic record of, gases, ash, soot, pollen, spores, silt, insects, plant animals, metals, salts.....
detourdog 3y ago
It's interesting because the whole ice cap as we know it is around 120k years ago which I don't consider the long ago on human development scale. This also appears to mean that in the past 120K there wasn't a polar ice cap. I read that as the worst case scenario we should be using for long term planning. This also may help determine how fast the ice was built and how fast it will melt. I'm completely an armchair ponderer.
- lumost 3y ago
  This will also assuredly fuel some interesting ideas about the origin of the Piri Reis map. A 120k year old ice sheet could mean that humans once lived on Antarctica. It does make one wonder if any ancient sea fearing humans happened to carve a world map into a durable material such as granite which could have survived until the modern historic era. Maybe such a map, or other mythological artifact fueld the Roman idea of Terra Australis Incognita /End rampant unsupported armchair speculation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piri_Reis_map https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piri_Reis_map https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_Australis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_Australis
  - detourdog 3y ago
    The Polynesians used stick maps to identify currents and land masses relative positions. With no evidence I believe navigation cues were built into the vessel. By keeping celestial bodies aligned with marks on the vessel one can achieve a seasonal calendar as well as documentation on how to modify the configuration for the next leg of the journey.
    - contingencies 3y ago
      IIRC the 'maps' made of organic materials were very much a rarity slash teaching aid for the later incarnations of traditional navigation cultures of the Pacific which we have surviving material on. Mostly they used mental maps, and of course the most sensitive instruments available at the time ... at least one example of which was hanging their balls off the edge of the canoe to see if they could detect a temperature shift. A good book on the subject is We: The Navigators though it draws only from one area. Source: Have a Pacific art collection, have been to most of the major museums on the subject, interested in sailing, authored some of the Wikipedia (featured) articles on related watercraft.
      - detourdog 3y ago
        Yes, I would believe that some as fragile as the stick maps was no way to cross an ocean. What I think is interesting is the physical representation of an oral tradition. This is different than writing as employed today.
sgirard 3y ago
I find it interesting because it raises questions that I don't have answers to. For example: - What caused the temperature above Greenland to be 5°C warmer than today? Why is it cooler now compared to 120,000 years ago? What causes the interglacial periods? Is glaciation the more common state of the climate? - The article says the ice sheet is melting at the bottom? Why? Pressure from above? Friction from movement? Heat from the Earth? Something else? - Was the ice sheet shrinking or growing when the temperatures above Greenland were 5°C warmer than now? Does existence of the ice sheet imply that 5°C warmer for some period of time is not enough to melt the Greenland ice sheet? - How much climate data has been lost to melting from the bottom? Is the ice sheet thickening or thinning compared 120,000 years ago? How would we know? - How much has the Greenland land mass moved in 120,000 years due to plate tectonics? Could this have impacted the ice sheet in this short amount of time? - Humans adapt. How did humans adapt to a climate that was warmer by up to 5°C 120,000 years ago? - How long did the warm temperatures persist 120,000 years ago? 10,000 years? 50,000 years? Or more? - Could a cooling climate be more worrisome to humanity than a warming one?

Presumably because we can find well preserved organisms from that time.

It's not scientifically interesting, the glacial-interglacial cycles are pretty well established. I'm guessing they're trying to insinuate some climate change minimalism argument.

mensetmanusman 3y ago
It’s interesting to know how far back in time the ice will allow them to analyze once they get to the base.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

snowwrestler 3y ago

I think people who are not already familiar with the known history of the Earth find it interesting that there have been higher CO2 levels and temps than there are now. And I agree: the history of the Earth is interesting. Which is why so many people study and work in the field of geology.

rolph 3y ago

the drilling allows sampling of environmental components over extended period of time. this meas a historic record of, gases, ash, soot, pollen, spores, silt, insects, plant animals, metals, salts.....

detourdog 3y ago

It's interesting because the whole ice cap as we know it is around 120k years ago which I don't consider the long ago on human development scale. This also appears to mean that in the past 120K there wasn't a polar ice cap. I read that as the worst case scenario we should be using for long term planning. This also may help determine how fast the ice was built and how fast it will melt. I'm completely an armchair ponderer.

lumost 3y ago
This will also assuredly fuel some interesting ideas about the origin of the Piri Reis map. A 120k year old ice sheet could mean that humans once lived on Antarctica. It does make one wonder if any ancient sea fearing humans happened to carve a world map into a durable material such as granite which could have survived until the modern historic era. Maybe such a map, or other mythological artifact fueld the Roman idea of Terra Australis Incognita /End rampant unsupported armchair speculation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piri_Reis_map https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piri_Reis_map https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_Australis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_Australis
- detourdog 3y ago
  The Polynesians used stick maps to identify currents and land masses relative positions. With no evidence I believe navigation cues were built into the vessel. By keeping celestial bodies aligned with marks on the vessel one can achieve a seasonal calendar as well as documentation on how to modify the configuration for the next leg of the journey.
  - contingencies 3y ago
    IIRC the 'maps' made of organic materials were very much a rarity slash teaching aid for the later incarnations of traditional navigation cultures of the Pacific which we have surviving material on. Mostly they used mental maps, and of course the most sensitive instruments available at the time ... at least one example of which was hanging their balls off the edge of the canoe to see if they could detect a temperature shift. A good book on the subject is We: The Navigators though it draws only from one area. Source: Have a Pacific art collection, have been to most of the major museums on the subject, interested in sailing, authored some of the Wikipedia (featured) articles on related watercraft.
    - detourdog 3y ago
      Yes, I would believe that some as fragile as the stick maps was no way to cross an ocean. What I think is interesting is the physical representation of an oral tradition. This is different than writing as employed today.

sgirard 3y ago

I find it interesting because it raises questions that I don't have answers to. For example: - What caused the temperature above Greenland to be 5°C warmer than today? Why is it cooler now compared to 120,000 years ago? What causes the interglacial periods? Is glaciation the more common state of the climate? - The article says the ice sheet is melting at the bottom? Why? Pressure from above? Friction from movement? Heat from the Earth? Something else? - Was the ice sheet shrinking or growing when the temperatures above Greenland were 5°C warmer than now? Does existence of the ice sheet imply that 5°C warmer for some period of time is not enough to melt the Greenland ice sheet? - How much climate data has been lost to melting from the bottom? Is the ice sheet thickening or thinning compared 120,000 years ago? How would we know? - How much has the Greenland land mass moved in 120,000 years due to plate tectonics? Could this have impacted the ice sheet in this short amount of time? - Humans adapt. How did humans adapt to a climate that was warmer by up to 5°C 120,000 years ago? - How long did the warm temperatures persist 120,000 years ago? 10,000 years? 50,000 years? Or more? - Could a cooling climate be more worrisome to humanity than a warming one?