Camera Sent Down 93 Meter Hole to Uncover Earth's Oldest Ice

A PhD student in Allan Hills, East Antarctica, sent his camera 93 meters into the ground on December 23, while collecting ice researchers estimate to be over two million years old.

Austin Carter and his fellow researchers traveled with the Center for Old Ice Exploration (COLDEX), whose mission is to “explore Antarctica for the oldest possible ice core records of our planet’s climate and environmental history.”

Carter, who recorded the video, told Storyful that the camera “[traveled] down the borehole of the completed ice core” to teach viewers about the research as it progresses.

The research is funded by the National Science Foundation and supported by the United States Antarctic Program. Credit: Austin Carter via Storyful

Video transcript

[NO SPEECH]