Air bubbles within a deep ice core drilled in Antarctica could reveal why Earth suddenly began to experience longer ice ages nearly 1 million years ago.

The same team previously drilled a core about 800,000 years old. The latest drilling went 2.8 kilometers (about 1.7 miles) deep, with a team of 16 scientists and support personnel drilling each summer ...

the project to obtain the core. The latest drilling went 2.8 kilometers (about 1.7 miles) deep, with a team of 16 scientists and support personnel drilling each summer over four years in average ...

The team had to work to prevent drill failures and ensure that the electromechanical core drill was progressing through the ice layers. Each meter of ice can contain as many as 13,000 years of ...

By drilling 1.7 miles beneath the icy surface, the team has pulled a 1.2 million-year-old ice core from Antarctic bedrock. The gases trapped in the core are expected to yield "high-resolution" ...

Barbante also directs the Polar Science Institute at Italy's National Research Council.The same team previously drilled a core about 800,000 years old. The latest drilling went about 1.7 miles ...