Australia's quest to obtain a million-year-old Antarctic ice core - the oldest ever drilled - takes a major step this summer.
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Tiny air bubbles trapped in the ice, to be taken from up to 2.8 kilometres below the frozen continent's surface, will shed light on the Earth's past climate and help model the future.
Some 800 tonnes of equipment, including a 10-metre custom-designed drill, 20 sleds, living and medical vans, will be transported south in coming months.
The drilling is expected to begin in earnest in 2022/23, once a camp is set up 1300km inland at 'Little Dome C', one of Antarctica's highest points.
"This is the last great adventure on Earth," Australian Antarctic Division director Kim Ellis said on Tuesday.
The drill has been tested at AAD headquarters south of Hobart using a sizeable frozen cube painstakingly built up in layers to mirror ice in Antarctica.
"Layers in the ice core are essentially like pages in a diary," AAD chief scientist Nicole Webster said.
"There's tiny air bubbles trapped in the ice core that contain atmosphere that provides a window into that particular point in history.
"Things like past temperature, frequency and intensity of volcanic eruptions, wind patterns, sea ice ... (the) extent all of this information gets trapped."
Prof Webster said the data would also help solve the longstanding mystery of why ice ages changed from once every 41,000 years to every 100,000 a million years ago.
Scientists will work eight-our shifts in below-freezing temperatures during drilling, which is expected to take four-to-five seasons in total.
A European team uncovered 800,000-year-old ice a few years ago, and the US, China and Japan are also chasing what amounts to a frozen timeline.
It is the main mission for the AAD this summer, a season described by Mr Ellis as one of its most ambitious.
About 500 scientists and support personnel will head south over five months on three ships and a range of aircraft.
The nation's new icebreaker, RSV Nuyina, is expected to reach its home port of Hobart on October 16 and will undergo final testing before its maiden Antarctic voyage.
The vessel, which will significantly boost Australia's scientific and re-supply capability, was delayed partly due to COVID-19, and left its Dutch port in early September.
The AAD is figuring out the best way to re-fuel Nuyina, with TasPorts conducting wind and tide simulations to determine when it can pass under Hobart's Tasman Bridge.
Concerns have been raised about the vessel's ability to fit safely under the bridge, but the AAD says it is "designed to fit within length and height limitations".
The AAD says it has several refuelling options, including the under-bridge transit to Self's Point.
Australian Associated Press