IzotzaLab team members Patricia Muñoz, Nicolás González and Sérgio Henrique Faria have been interviewed for the article «Bubbles in the ice to study the atmosphere of centuries ago » in El País newspaper.
In the interview Patricia tells us that IzotzaLab works with ice from different parts of the planet in conditions similar to those found in those regions:
From these buttons, I can regulate the air humidity and temperature. We usually work at between -20ºC and -30ºC. There are always two of us working here. On some occasions, both of us are inside; on others, one of us is in this room, from where we monitor the interior.
Meanwhile, Nicolás recalls that.
During our winter 2019 expedition to the Baltoro Glacier in Pakistan, the precipitation in the area was the heaviest in the last half-century.
Despite several unforeseen events, the samples were extracted, and the research developed.
In this scenario, Sérgio states that the ice samples contain invaluable atmospheric information.
When snow is deposited, it captures all the atmospheric chemistry. As its structure is granular, hollows are formed which, with the weight of the layer itself, become isolated bubbles.
These bubbles retain the exact air composition at the moment of compaction, offering a window into historical atmospheric conditions.
To read the full article in Spanish, click here and for the English version, click here.