Scientists survey Mount Ararat glacier to recover its first ice core

A German-Turkish team completed the first scientific survey of Mount Ararat's glacier above 5,000 meters in July.

The team used ground-based radio echo sounding and active seismic surveys to map the glacier and determine where to drill the first ice core.

Dr. Coen Hofstede of the Alfred Wegener Institute led the measurements; the data will guide a future expedition to collect a continuous ice core.

The ice core could reveal thousands of years of climate and human history, but the glacier is shrinking due to global warming.