Ice Core Science Resources

Students study the effect of changing temperatures on gas solubility. Students then apply this knowledge to estimate the temperature of the ocean millions of years ago using nobel gas concentrations pulled from COLDEX ice samples from Antarctica.

Students collaborate to estimate the age of several ice cores using authentic data and four different dating techniques.

There’s plenty to learn from a frozen water balloon, starting with the patterns of bubbles—or lack thereof—in the ice.

Students observe a subglacial lake model and measure changes in temperature, salinity and sea level rise as the glaciers/ice sheets and subglacial lakes melt.. Students will move from the small model to discussions of implications for Earth systems.

Students explore how glaciers move by using “glacier goo/flubber,” (a polymer made with glue and Borax solution) whose properties model the movement of glacial ice. Through an open or guided inquiry, students make a hypothesis and then test their ideas.

Students’ primary task in this activity is to design a container that will keep an ice core from melting over time AND to do so while spending the least amount of "money."

By building a personal “life core,” students are introduced to some of the techniques and vocabulary used by scientists as they study ice cores.

Land Ice/Sea Ice/Grounded Ice: How does melting ice affect sea level?

This lab is an engaging hands-on activity demonstrating that CO2 is a direct measurement while hydrogen isotopes are used as a proxy for temperature measurements. Through the study of ice cores, scientists have developed a continuous record of CO2 and temperature records going back 800,000 years. Requires freezer space and several days of freezing time.