The Arctic Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets are made of ice from the past snow. By drilling the ice sheet and analyzing the ice core (cylindrical ice), it is possible to reconstruct the global environment up to dozens of 10,000 years ago. From this year, I started research on ice core for polar ice sheets, focusing on the gas components contained in ice cores and the physical characteristics of snow and ice. Ice Core Analysis Techniques (ICAT) PhD school-2019 was held from September 23 to 28, 2019 in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the purpose of educating young ice core scientists. The International Ice Drill Symposium (IDS) was held from September 30th to October 3rd. I participated in ICAT and IDS with the aim of deepening my understanding of ice core research and solidifying the basis for future research.
ICAT was organized by Physics for Ice, Climate and Earth (PICE), the Niels Bohr Institute (NBI), the University of Copenhagen, which leads the international drilling campaigns on the Greenland Ice Sheet. About 25 doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers gathered as well as lecturers who lead the ice core study from all over the world. The 7-day schedule focused on lectures, laboratory tours and data analysis exercises. The lectures covered a wide range of topics, from the history of drilling and drilling technology, to basic knowledge and analysis methods for ice core components (water isotopes, dust, ions, gas, etc.), which are proxies of the paleoenvironment, and also the latest research. Thus, I was able to grasp an overview of ice core research. We also visited the Danish ice sheet topography and tour the PICE ice core storage. In addition, I was able to interact with young researchers throughout the entire schedule and make connections for future research collaborations.
IDS was held at The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters in Copenhagen. It was a useful experience for my involvement with future drilling campaigns in the Arctic region.
Through ICAT and IDS, I was able to have a very meaningful experience early on from my graduate school years. I would like to thank the ArCS Program for Overseas Visits by Young Researchers for 2019.
(Ryo Inoue, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies)
Lecture at ICAT
A demonstration of UAV that can dig icebergs and place GPS to track the movement of icebergs at the IDS celebration
