Beyond EPICA European drilling of Antarctic polar ice: back at least 1.2 million years!

Beyond EPICA European drilling of Antarctic polar ice: back at least 1.2 million years!

The European Beyond EPICA project has achieved a historic goal for climate science. A team of scientists from the LSCE (CEA/CNRS/UVSQ) has drilled a 2,750 m-long ice core, reaching the bedrock beneath the Antarctic ice cap. For the first time, the samples will make it possible to reconstruct the history of the Earth’s climate and atmospheric composition over at least 1.2 million years, surpassing the previous record of 800,000 years.

What is the cause of the great glacial cycles of the last million years? This is the mystery being investigated by the European Beyond Epica project, from the site of the small Dome C in Antarctica, some 40km from the Concordia station. Its team, involving twelve institutes from ten European nations including LSCE, has just achieved an all-time record by successfully carrying out a drilling campaign to reach the sub-glacial continent at a depth of 2,750m.

The first field analyses have provided a direct overview of the Earth’s atmospheric temperatures over 1.2 million years, surpassing the previous record of 800,000 years set in 2007 by the Epica project. Thanks to the isotope analysis system prepared for the field, we are able to see the succession of glacial-interglacial cycles recorded in the ice almost in real time during drilling, thus confirming the preliminary dating,” reports LSCE researcher Amaëlle Landais. The age of 1.2 million years is a minimum age; we may have older ice, up to several million years old, but further analysis, particularly at LSCE in Saclay, will be necessary to determine this.

Glacial cycle transitions and reversals of the Earth’s magnetic field

The Beyond EPICA core will provide a unique insight into the mysterious mid-Pleistocene transition, a period between 900,000 and 1.2 million years in the past during which glacial cycles increased in amplitude and duration from 41,000 to 100,000 years.

On their return to their laboratories in Europe, the scientists will attempt to reconstruct the reversals in the Earth’s magnetic field over these 1.2 million years. What’s more, the deepest 200 m of ice in the core may yet hold some surprises in store. Although this basal ice has a priori lost some of its paleoclimatic information, it could be very old, potentially several million years old. Researchers are even hoping to recover rocks from beneath the ice that could indicate when the continent was last deglaciated.

his feat was made possible thanks to collaboration between various European research institutes, who pooled their equipment and expertise, with logistical support from the Ipev and Enea polar institutes. Indeed, it has required numerous technical and logistical developments to ensure the functionality of the camps and welcome the teams since 2019. The Beyond Epica project required four prior geophysical measurement campaigns to select the best drilling site.

https://www.cea.fr/drf/Pages/Actualites/En-direct-des-labos/2025/Forage-historique-glace-polaire-1,2-millions-ann%C3%A9es.aspx (french)

https://www.beyondepica.eu/en