Ice Core Chasers: Why Scientists Brave Everest’s Extreme Conditions

Imagine climbing Mount Everest not for glory, but to haul 200kg of ice in -40°C winds . For ice-core drilling teams, this is reality – battling altitude sickness, helicopter failures, and tents literally flying off mountainsides. But why?

The Ultimate Climate Time Machine

Researcher Xu Baiqing explains: 'Every ice layer tells Earth’s story – like reading 15,000-year-old air mail.' These frozen archives reveal ancient CO2 levels, volcanic eruptions, and even pandemics!

Science as Extreme Sport

Teams spend months:

• Hand-carrying drills across crevasses
• Working 18-hour days in oxygen-starved 'brain fog'
• Protecting samples like newborn pandas (one melt = years lost!)

A Legacy Bigger Than Everest

'We’re not just drilling ice – we’re drilling through time to save our future,' Xu says. Next-gen climate models depend on these shimmering cylinders. Talk about #ColdHardFacts!

Reference(s):

What motivates a scientist to spend their life extracting ice cores?

cgtn.com