Claude Lorius is one of the pioneer ice scientists of the past century. This movie is about him.
He’s been featured here before.
In this clip, Lorius describes the discovery of how air bubbles, trapped in glacier ice, can be a window into the past.
It all started with a glass of whiskey.
One of the most critical tools for discovery of earth’s climate history was birthed by serendipitous accident as a weary antarctic scientist, on a whim, decided to chill a glass of whiskey with ice from a glacial drilling project.
“It was when I saw them burst as ice cubes melt in a glass of whisky that it occurred to me they would hold vital information about the altitude the ice was formed at, and most importantly, the air bubbles were reliable and unique indicators of the composition of the air – something we would prove over the years,”
Claude Lorius was that pioneering explorer, who, in the 1950s, answered a bulletin board job posting for polar research assistants, and fell in love with the “mercilessly hostile” vastness of the ice sheets.
Reblogged this on A Green Road Daily News.
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I’d love to see that Ice & Sky’ movie. Wonder if it screened in Australia or if any of our TV stations would show it and if it might be available online somewhere?