Ancient leaves preserved under a mile of Greenland’s ice — and lost in a freezer for years — hold lessons about climate change
Tundra remnants found in soil deep beneath Camp Century give scientists a window into a Greenland with far less ice.
In 1963, inside a covert U.S. military base in northern Greenland, a team of scientists began drilling down through the Greenland ice sheet. Piece by piece, they extracted an ice core 4 inches across and nearly a mile long. At the very end, they pulled up something else — 12 feet of frozen soil.
Access to content from the Arctic Knowledge Archives is available to Passport holders only.
Arctic Today is a non-profit organization, supported by donations from readers like you. While we strongly believe in giving free access to current news for all readers, we reserve content older than one year for our supporters. All individual contributions of at least $20/month or $150/year will receive a Passport to the Arctic Knowledge Archives. Help us drive the leading non-profit editorial team dedicated to delivering context, information and analysis about events in the Arctic.
Already have a Passport? Sign in
choose your level of support and unlock your Arctic Passport.
- Monthly
- Annually
- Groups & Institutions
Individual Annual
$150.00
Year
Individual Monthly
$20.00
Month
Individual Monthly
$20.00
0
Individual Yearly
$150.00
0






