According to studies conducted by French and Bolivian scientists, the ice layers at Mount Andean do not store data similar to what is found in the ice layers of Antarctica. The composition of these ice layers indicates information about precipitation rather than climate data.
To study climate changes through ice samples, researchers rely on the analysis of water isotopes. In the Arctic and Antarctic regions, changes in isotopic compositions may be related to temperature changes. In tropical regions, however, the variations are much more complex, making data analysis quite challenging. To carry out their research, scientists established a network to collect rainfall data in the area near Illimani, Bolivia’s glacial region, where ice samples reflect the climate’s historical progression over the past 20,000 years.
The analysis of rainfall samples shows that the isotopic composition of the ice primarily depends on the amount of precipitation in each region, specifically the Amazon and the tropical Atlantic region. According to the results obtained, these areas were much wetter than previously thought 20,000 years ago. These findings were published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
