Why Did Scientists Drill the Deepest Hole Ever in Antarctica\'s Ice?

For the first time ever, scientists have drilled over a mile down into the ice sheet in West Antarctica.

????A team from the British Antarctic Survey has been working on the Rutford Ice Stream for the last 12 weeks in temperatures reaching as low as minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit????And after 63 hours of continuous drilling with hot water, they broke through to the sediment, hitting a depth of 1.3 miles down.

????Now different instruments have been lowered down to measure water pressure and ice temperature among other things.

????Researchers say the research will help them understand how the area will respond to the warming climate.

????So far, two holes have been drilled, the first completed on January 8th and the second on the 22nd.

????By measuring how quickly the glaciers flow off into the sea, the better we will be able to figure out future sea level rise.

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