Thousands of meteorites could be lost in Antarctica in the years to come, meaning researchers won’t have the chance to learn more about the solar system.
A new study has warned 5,000 meteorites may sink beneath the ice in Antarctica if climate change continues.
The pristine space rocks are littered across or below the surface, but they may become a thing of the past over the next few decades.
Rising temperatures are posing a risk of the potential they have to unlocking more secrets of the universe, a new study has said.
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Within ‘blue ice areas’, trapped meteorites can return to the surface after wind and sunlight remove the top layers of the frozen water in Antarctica.
Scientists believe some of them have been left there for thousands of years.
So far, 50,000 meteorites have been found in Antarctica, which correlates to 60% of recorded rocks collected worldwide. They range in size, from huge pieces of specimens to smaller ones that are less than an inch in diameter.
They are useful for researchers as the ice preserves them, and lowers the risk of being contaminated by microbes, minerals or people.
However, rising global temperatures mean they are sinking more than before.
In a new study published in Nature Climate Change, scientists used machine learning (artificial intelligence) to estimate how many could be lost for good.
They predict there are up to 850,000 meteorites on or near the surface in Antarctica in these blue ice zones.
5,000 are already sinking each year, and this could rise in the coming decades.
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