US EditionSix-million-year-old ice discovered in Antarctica offers unprecedented window into a warmer Earth
The discovery extends ice core climate data six times beyond previous records and shows Antarctica cooled about 12°C over 6 million years, researchers said.
- On October 28, 2025, COLDEX researchers led by Sarah Shackleton and John Higgins reported recovery of 6 million-year-old ice from Allan Hills, East Antarctica, in PNAS .
- Because mountain topography and winds preserve shallow old ice, COLDEX field teams drilled one to two hundred meters on ice-sheet fringes where older layers appear near the surface, contrasting with interior cores needing more than 2,000 meters.
- Argon isotope measurements indicate scientists directly dated ice by measuring argon in trapped air bubbles, while laboratory analysis of oxygen isotopes reveals about 12 degrees Celsius regional cooling.
- COLDEX plans a multi-year follow-up between 2026 and 2031, with a team returning in the coming months to drill more ice and reconstruct past atmospheric greenhouse gases and ocean heat content.
- Amid an international race, COLDEX's result complements a European finding of a continuous 1.2 million-year core, while Allan Hills cores preserve trapped air bubbles as climate 'time capsule'.
13 Articles
13 Articles
What scientists found at a depth of only 200 metres exceeded all expectations: six million years old ice shows how the earth has changed.
Researchers argue that the finding provides a window into the Earth’s past climate. A team of American scientists discovered the oldest ice on the planet: it amounts to up to six million years and was located in the Allan Hills region of Eastern Antarctica, according to the results of a new research published in PNAS, the journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). In the researchers’ view, both this block of ice and the tiny air bubbles …
Six million year old Antarctic ice reveals deep history of Earth's climate
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 29, 2025 A team of US researchers has found the oldest directly dated ice and air samples on Earth in the Allan Hills of East Antarctica. The ice, aged at 6 million years, contains ancient air bubbles that provide new insight into the planet's climate history. The work, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, includes researchers from the National Science Foundation-funded
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