The Japanese government has expressed its willingness to create a new scientific base in Antarctica, equipped to take samples of air that has been trapped in ice for over a million years.
The purpose? Study the composition of the atmosphere of that era and acquire useful information to predict future climate changes. By analyzing the air bubbles trapped in the ice sheets, it is in fact possible to trace the trend of the concentration of CO2 in the earth's atmosphere since the most ancient periods. Japan already has two active bases on the ice continent, Showa Station on the coast and Dome Fuji inland. The researchers of Dome Fuji have already obtained, by drilling the ice up to 3000 meters, an air sample dating back to 720.000 years ago. The record, which Japan intends to beat, is currently held by the European team, which brought to the surface an 800.000-year-old air bubble.
"The idea of a new station was born during a government commission meeting last week as an important possibility for the next Antarctic project, which will start in 2016," said an official from the Ministry of Science and Science. Technology. The Japanese project, however, will have to be examined, and obtain approval, on the basis of the Antarctic Treaty, which, in force since 1961, allows the presence on the territory of Antarctica of various states, provided they pursue scientific purposes and renounce military purposes or economic exploitation.
