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why do ice cores taken from polar regions contain much older information about earth's climate than ice cores taken from mountaintops

User Mike Woolf
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2 Answers

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16 votes

Final answer:

Ice cores taken from polar regions contain much older information about Earth's climate than ice cores taken from mountaintops due to the different accumulation rates of ice in these areas.

Step-by-step explanation:

Ice cores taken from polar regions contain much older information about Earth's climate than ice cores taken from mountaintops due to the different accumulation rates of ice in these areas.

In polar regions, such as Antarctica, ice accumulates at a much slower rate compared to mountaintops. As a result, the ice at the bottom of polar ice caps can be thousands of years old, providing a long-term record of past climate conditions.

In contrast, ice cores taken from mountaintops have a shorter history as the ice accumulates more rapidly. Therefore, they contain relatively recent information about Earth's climate.

User Sorens
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8 votes
8 votes

Answer:

Ice cores provide a unique contribution to our view of past climate because the bubbles within the ice capture the gas concentration of our well-mixed atmosphere while the ice itself records other properties. Basically, the lack of melt from polar regions don’t corrupt the record of trapped gases or blur the record of other impurities.

Step-by-step explanation:

I hope this helps :)

User Lhk
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