Recommendations for a U.S. Ice Coring Program (1986) / Chapter Skim
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Pages 1-8
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The recent ice layers contain a record of anthropogenic pollutants such as carbon dioxide, other greenhouse gases, and heavy metals. Ice cores retrieved from depths down to 2000 m in the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have revealed variations in these climatic indicators over the last 150,000 years.
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Sampling the unique climatic indicators found in ice outside the polar regions in high-altitude ice caps can add to an understanding of the globally coupled climate system. For example, analyses of ice cores from Peru show that El Nirfo-Southern Oscillation events are recorded in the ice, thereby enabling the reconstruction of El Nifio history.
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The report examines the current status of ice core research in the United States and recommends specific steps to implement an ice coring and analysis program. Successful execution of such a program requires a number of elements, which must be individually successful and interact with one another with positive feedback loops.
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In comparison, the strengths of the principal European laboratories arise partly because each has been able to concentrate diverse aspects of ice core research in one unit with strong scientific leadership and positive feedback between capable and committed personnel. There is no standing scientific body responsible for setting directions on ice coring research at either the national or international level in the United States.
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Recommended Steps: • Establish responsibility for preparation of global and regional coring strategies, with input from the scientific community. Ice Coring Techniques Requirements: A dependable and efficient technological base for obtaining ice cores is essential to ice core research.
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Current Status: Most of the important ice analysis techniques can be carried out in the United States. However, available capacity is limited and could be easily saturated by successful ice coring.
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• Develop dry gas extraction techniques to advance measurement of climatically active gases including carbon dioxide. Related Needs Requirements: Ice core procurement and interpretation must be supported bv thorough ice dynamic and geophysical measurement and analysis for site selection and assessment of ice flow effects on stratigraphy, bv a strong logistical base for transport to and from remote locations, and bv procedures for storage and distribution of ice cores.
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ice coring, and seek funds from other agencies concerned with impacts from climatic change. • The United States should coordinate its own efforts with those of other nations through a formally constituted international advisory body.
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