Thousands of years of Arctic ice samples destroyed after University of Alberta freezer malfunctions
Clare Clancy and Michelle LePage, Postmedia News | April 17, 2017 | Last Updated: Apr 17 8:31 AM ET
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A massive freezer failure has damaged Arctic ice cores containing tens of thousands of years of climate change information invaluable to researchers.
“For every ice-core facility on the planet, this is their No. 1 nightmare,” University of Alberta glaciologist Martin Sharp said Thursday.
The Canadian Ice Core Archive includes 1.4 km of ice-core samples, representing more than 10,000 years of climate change.
More than 180 metres of ice was lost after a freezer in Edmonton malfunctioned over the weekend. That amounts to 12.8 per cent of the collection.
http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2017/04/story-slug3-e1492431699278.jpeg?w=140&quality=75&strip=all&h=105 140w, http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2017/04/story-slug3-e1492431699278.jpeg?w=300&quality=75&strip=all&h=225 300w, http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2017/04/story-slug3-e1492431699278.jpeg?w=768&quality=75&strip=all&h=576 768w, http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2017/04/story-slug3-e1492431699278.jpeg 940w" sizes="(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px" />“I’ve had better days, let’s say that,” Sharp said. “It was depressing to see the state of things and realize we thought we had a system that was bulletproof.”
The samples had previously been stored in Ottawa at the Geological Survey of Canada’s research laboratory, before being moved to the University of Alberta in January, where they were held in temporary storage.
The malfunction occurred within 10 days of moving the ice into the -37 C freezer for permanent storage, Sharp said, noting it was functioning properly as of noon Friday.
On Sunday, Edmonton Fire Rescue Services responded to a high-heat alarm in the facility, after the freezer temperature reached 40 C. Ice samples were immediately moved to a second freezer cooled to -25 C that’s used while researchers work on samples.
http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2017/04/3myrofdstj-jpeg1.jpeg?w=140&quality=75&strip=all&h=105 140w, http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2017/04/3myrofdstj-jpeg1.jpeg?w=300&quality=75&strip=all&h=225 300w, http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2017/04/3myrofdstj-jpeg1.jpeg?w=768&quality=75&strip=all&h=576 768w, http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2017/04/3myrofdstj-jpeg1.jpeg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px" />Most of the collection had been stored in the second undamaged freezer by coincidence, Sharp said, which means only a small portion of ice samples were affected.
A film crew from the television show Daily Planet wanted to film the collection as researchers moved it into the permanent storage location. The cameraman had asked that the ice be put in the working freezer, chilled to -25 C, because the lighting was better.
“That’s basically what saved us,” Sharp said.
The collection contains ice cores taken between 1970 and the mid-2000s from ice caps in areas including Baffin Island and Mount Logan, Canada’s highest mountain.
An ice core from the Penny Ice Cap on Baffin Island sustained serious damage. That core lost 66 metres of ice, about one-third of its mass, which equals 22,000 years of evidence.
http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2017/04/20170406db024-jpg1.jpeg?w=140&quality=75&strip=all&h=105 140w, http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2017/04/20170406db024-jpg1.jpeg?w=300&quality=75&strip=all&h=225 300w, http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2017/04/20170406db024-jpg1.jpeg?w=768&quality=75&strip=all&h=576 768w, http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2017/04/20170406db024-jpg1.jpeg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px" />A core from Mount Logan was also damaged — 16,000 years of the 17,000-year record was lost.
Sharp was observing snow geese in Tofield when he received word of the failure. He arrived at the facility 45 minutes later. “It was more like a change room in a swimming pool than a freezer.”
Andrew Sharman, vice-president of facilities and operations at University of Alberta, said Thursday the freezer failure was an unlikely thing to happen.
“To lose your cooling water, your compressors, to leave the fans running, your electronic alarms to fail when they are on a secure network is totally unheard of,” he said.
Comments
Suggest you investigate this was an accident, climate change theory is not supported by all. I would be a bit suspicious.