Ice Cores and Why They're Awesome!

The cool thing about ice in the arctic and other cold areas is that snow/ice layers on top of each other throughout the year. The snow and ice tell a lot about the temperature because in these frigid areas, the snow and ice don't actually melt. This allows the people analyzing the ice to help determine temperatures and climate of that certain layer. The snow varies in chemistry, as well as winter snow being different than the summer snow. Light and heavy oxygen can be found within the ice cores which can help indicate the climate and atmosphere for that time period. The snowfall collects dust, human pollutants, sea salt, ash and gas bubbles which then get preserved and can now be analyzed. Ice cores can be used to reconstruct temperatures, precipitation, volcanic eruptions and even forest fires. The way that ice cores are formed allow them to be easily read by showing distinct seasonal markers.

An example of an ice core is below:

Source: here