BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have succeeded in obtaining three ice cores from Mt. Qomolangma (Mt. Everest), with aims to study climate change, an expedition leader said Monday.
During the expedition that lasted more than one month, scientists drilled the ice cores at a mountain pass near the East Rongbuk glacier, which covers the north collar of Mt. Everest, said Kang Shichang.
The longest ice core measures 142 meters, the longest one ever obtained from the mountain, said Kang, who is also a research fellow at the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
The ice cores will be used to study climate and environmental change, Kang said.
Chinese scientists previously obtained ice cores at the same location in the late 1990s and early 2000s, respectively.
"The new cores will provide more detailed information regarding climate and environmental changes, providing new insight into global warming," Kang said.
The expedition also found a recent escalation in the melting of the East Rongbuk glacier, with some ice towers on the edge of the glacier disappearing and some new ice crevasses developing further in comparison to what scientists saw in the region in the 1990s, according to Kang.
"This indicates that climate and environmental changes have had an obvious impact on Mount Everest," Kang said.
Researchers will analyze stable isotopes and organic pollutants in the ice cores.
Some samples will be sent abroad for further study, Kang said, adding that the research could take one to two years.
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