European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA)

Abstract

EPICA is a long-term (∼ 7 years) European deep ice-core drilling project in Antarctica to derive high resolution records of climate and atmospheric composition through several glacial-interglacial cycles. The project is designed to complement the highly successful central Greenland projects and it will allow extension and full documentation of the East Antarctic record so far essentially limited to the analysis of the Vostok core. To achieve EPICA's goals, it will be necessary to drill at two sites, both to achieve the required resolution on different timescales and an adequate continent-wide perspective. The first four-year phase will focus on the major climate shifts that have characterized the past several glacial interglacial cycles. This will be done by analyzing a 3300 m long ice core drilled at Dome Concordia, South of the Indian Ocean in East Antarctica. During the second phase of the project, a core will be obtained from Dronning Maud Land, an area of Antarctica most strongly influenced by the Atlantic ocean. This phase of the project is designed to focus specifically on the rapid climate oscillations that have been detected across Greenland throughout the last glaciation.