The line-scan images collected in this book represent the most accurate optical record of
Antarctic ice cores ever presented providing an invaluable resource for glaciologists and
climate modellers as well as a fascinating compilation of ice core images for Antarctica
enthusiasts.Global warming and the Earth's past climate are the two main reasons for extracting
deep ice cores from Antarctica. Indeed dust particles aerosols and other climatic traces
deposited on the snow surface as well as the air trapped in bubbles by compacted snow produce
chronologically ordered strata making the ice from Antarctica the most accurate and valuable
archive of the Earth's climate over the last million years. In addition the layered structure
produced by these strata when revealed by appropriate methods provides indispensable
information concerning the flow and mechanical stability of the Antarctic ice sheet allowing
us to assess the current and future impact of global warming on the melting of polar ice caps
with much greater precision.
