And so we start our trek across Antarctica, towards a place that is over 3,000 metres above sea level and more than 1,200 kilometres from the coast. Survival conditions are at the limit of human endurance; temperatures can reach -60° C. Our gear includes tents, crates of food, tons of fuel to generate electricity, tools to extract ice cores from the frozen terrain, and sample containers. What is all this stuff for? To recover the memory of past climates through the information trapped in the layers of ice accumulated over time. Digging into the polar cap, in fact, means accessing an exceptional archive recording the factors that shaped our planet’s climate: greenhouse gases, volcanic ash, fine dust. Ice is a formidable time machine allowing us to improve our understanding of ongoing phenomena and, perhaps, predict future developments.

Carlo Barbante heads the Italian National Research Council’s Polar Science Institute and teaches at the Ca’ Foscari University in Venice. He has been engaged for years in climate and environment reconstructions and the development of innovative analytical methods.