“So, what is the difference between ice you make at home in your freezer and ice here in Antarctica? The answer to that is bubbles!” said Austin Carter in one of his TikTok videos.
If Austin Carter had to pick a theme song, it would probably be “Ice Ice Baby.”
The 27-year-old doctoral student and Royal Oak native has been living on the southernmost continent for 50 days where researchers are drilling for ice.
“So, ice cores from Antarctica are this unique scientific resource… They contain a record of earth’s climate that’s pretty much unrivaled by other archives,” Carter explained.
7 Action News caught up with him in Sydney, Australia via ZOOM this week after he’d just wrapped up his third trip near the South Pole.
He joined researchers from 15 universities and the Center for Oldest Ice Exploration (COLDEX) to find the oldest ice on the planet and study the prehistoric dust particles trapped inside.
“What is the oldest core of ice you’ve uncovered?” 7 Action News asked Carter.