Unlocking Climate Change Secrets: A Journey from Antarctica to a Brussels Lab

Scientists examining Antarctic ice cores

Imagine a chilly room in Brussels, where scientists bundled in parkas are carefully chipping away at pieces of ice tens of thousands of years old. This isn’t just any ice – it’s a time capsule from Antarctica, holding vital clues about our planet’s climate history.

Decoding Earth’s Past Climates

These scientists at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) are on a mission to unravel the mysteries of Earth’s past climates. By analyzing the ancient ice, they hope to gain a deeper understanding of how our climate has changed over millennia.

Why Look to the Past to Understand the Future?

“We want to know a lot about the climates of the past because we can use it as an analogy for what can happen in the future,” explains Harry Zekollari, a glaciologist at VUB. The ice cores act like a historical record, providing valuable insights into past temperature fluctuations, atmospheric composition, and even volcanic eruptions. By studying these past patterns, scientists can better predict the potential impacts of future climate change.