American scientists explore Antarctica for oldest-ever ice to help understand climate change

They're braving some of the highest, driest, coldest and windiest conditions on the planet, but American scientists in Antarctica believe the effort is worth it. They're searching for a sample of the oldest ice ever found, which could help us better understand climate change.

The expedition to Antarctica is part of COLDEX, a federally funded collaboration of American universities and science organizations. For the team carrying out this work near the South Pole, it means camping on the ice without showers or flushing toilets for seven weeks.

Once researchers collect ice samples, scientists back in the U.S. will examine them for information about what the climate was like hundreds of thousands of years ago.