On October 29, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced the successful extraction of a 324-meter ice core from the thickest glacier on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
This is the longest ice core ever drilled on this plateau and also the longest ice core in the world drilled outside the polar regions.
China successfully extracts the world’s longest ice core. (Photo: Xinhua).
Despite the wind and snow, for over a month, researchers worked tirelessly on the Purog Kangri Glacier in Tsonyi County, the highest county in China located in the Tibet Autonomous Region, with an average elevation of over 5,000 meters above sea level. According to CAS, the ice core surpassed the previous record set in 1992 when Chinese and American scientists drilled a 308.6-meter ice core from the Guliya ice cap in the Ngari region of the Tibetan Plateau.
Glaciers contain vital information about the Earth’s climate history. Xu Baiqing, the deputy director of the Tibet Plateau Research Institute (part of CAS) and the project leader, stated: “The longest ice core here has unique geographical and climatic features, preserving long-term climate and environmental information in this region.”
During the scientific research on the Purog Kangri Glacier, which began in September, scientists determined that this is the thickest glacier on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau after discovering an ice field with a maximum thickness of nearly 400 meters.
Lonnie Thompson, a member of the American scientific team who joined the research in September, remarked: “Currently, glaciers around the world are thinning. Once these glaciers melt, the historical information contained within them will also disappear. Therefore, the extraction and preservation of ice cores is crucial for gathering historical information.”
The drilling of the ice core and measurement of the thickness of the Purog Kangri Glacier is part of China’s second scientific exploration and research project on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, initiated in August 2017. By measuring thickness and extracting ice cores, scientists can better examine the changes occurring in this largest glacier field from mid to low latitudes, along with the environmental changes recorded, thereby gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the impacts of global warming on glaciers.
