Research project P4S/25/BECOOL (Research action P4S)
BE COOL is a Belgian Antarctic research project that aims to recover and analyse some of the oldest ice on Earth. Ancient ice preserves direct evidence of past climate conditions and atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, providing essential information to better understand the mechanisms driving future climate change. The project focuses on blue ice areas near the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica Station. In these unique environments, very old ice is naturally exposed near the surface, offering access to ancient climate archives without the need for deep and logistically heavy drilling. By combining field observations with advanced ice-flow modelling, BE COOL will identify the most promising drilling site and recover an ice core of approximately 200 meters. Analyses of this ice core will generate new greenhouse gas and Antarctic climate records, contributing to a better understanding of the role of the carbon cycle under warm climate conditions comparable to those projected for the end of the century.
