Achieving core goals

He says that, as the technology and means of analysis continue to improve, the ice cores that are stored will have a better use in the future.

"We used to drill ice cores together with foreign teams, but now we can do it on our own, and it gives us a great sense of accomplishment," Tian says. "This journey has accumulated a lot of experience."

In Tian's mind, the stratified glacier ice is akin to a thick diary, recording the history within the glacier's interior.

"Our country is abundant in glaciers; however, with the global climate warming up, a significant portion of them is facing a reduction in surface area, thickness and volume," Tian says, adding that this loss is leading to irreversible and irreparable destruction of essential information pertaining to the Earth's climate.

"Glaciers may not speak, but their message is found in the melting waters. Through ice core drilling, we are endeavoring to not only rescue 'the story of glaciers', but also listen to nature and heed its messages," Tian says.

An ice core is a column of ice obtained by using a mechanical drill to bore from the top to the bottom of a glacier. Each one has a diameter of 10 centimeters and a length of 80 cm.

According to Tian, ice core isotopes — or as he refers to them, "the Earth's history book" — provide information about the Earth's temperature fluctuations during past ice ages and interglacial periods, and they also record El Nino and La Nina climate events.

"For example, the data indicates a significant increase in heavy metal content in the ice cores from Himalayan glaciers since the Industrial Revolution," Tian explains.

"Ice cores, serving as invaluable records of climatic history, are of great importance. Scientists are working tirelessly to preserve these precious glacial archives before they succumb to melting," Tian says.