Cold Science

Author: Compiled by Yu Jia of American Corbustone Publishing Company
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Not all waters have the same freezing point. Most seawater begins to freeze at -2 degrees Celsius, while extremely salty seawater may remain liquid even at -20 degrees Celsius. The physical principle of water freezing can be utilized for various purposes, such as making ice cream. Beneath the surface of glaciers encased in layers of ice and snow lies the history and climate information of the Earth. Ice cores are the key to unlocking this treasure. They are cylindrical ice columns with a diameter of about 12 centimeters (4-5 inches), drilled from glaciers. By dating ice cores from around the world and studying the gases and other pollutants they contain, glaciologists have created ice age climate maps dating back 100,000 years. The more we learn about past climate conditions, the better we can predict future weather. There is much more exciting content.