Antarctica - Historic Secrets in the Ice

Antarctica plays a vital role in the world's climate and atmospheric patterns. Nearly 90 per cent of the world's ice is contained in the Antarctic's ancient ice sheets. By drilling into the ice, scientists can read the world's climatic history from as far back as half a million years ago, through deposits etched in the ice layers. These ice deposits tell us, for example, that 18,000 years ago, the world was probably far windier and dustier because Antarctic ice from that period contains more dust than fresh snow and the dust comes from other continents.