Ice core

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/ice-core

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How deep is Ice core?3,769 meters (Vostok Station, Antarctica)
2. What is the paleoclimatological archive?A natural record preserving past atmospheric and climatic conditions
3. What is the primary temperature proxy?Isotopic composition of water molecules (δ¹⁸O, δD)
4. What is an ice core and why is it like a diary of Earth's past?An ice core is a long column of ice that has been made by layers of snow piling up over thousands of years. Each layer keeps a tiny record of the air and weather from the time it fell, so scientists can read Earth's history.
5. How do scientists read the temperature from an ice core?They look at the tiny oxygen and hydrogen atoms in the water. The ratio of heavy to light versions tells them how warm or cold the air was when the snow fell.

Paleoclimatology: The study of past climates using indirect evidence from natural archives.
Proxy Data: Indirect evidence used to reconstruct past environmental conditions.
Stratigraphy: The study of rock layers and layering, used here for ice layers.
Anthropogenic: Originating from human activity.