Paleo Slide Set: Polar Ice Cores
Core processing line

The temperature of the ice cores is never allowed to rise above -15 degrees C, partly to prevent 
microcracks from forming and allowing present-day air to contaminate the fossil air trapped in the 
ice fabric, and partly to inhibit recrystallization of the ice structure. Since summer temperatures 
in central Greenland are often higher than this, the core is moved immediately from the drill dome to 
a network of trenches beneath the snow surface known as the core processing line (CPL). The first stop 
in the CPL are these wooden trays where cores are stored before measurements are performed. This ice 
is from 1500 m and is clear with the exception of a few subtle seasonal dust bands. 

Photo Credits:
Kendrick Taylor 
DRI, University of Nevada-Reno