1. Inventory
  2. Camp Century

Camp Century

General Information

The Camp Century ice core (CC 63-66) is a 10.8 cm diameter core drilled during 1963-1966 to 1390 m depth. Discrete portions of the Camp Century core are at the NSF-ICF. However, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) had no involvement in the collection of the core itself, and while there are some discontinuous sections of the core at the NSF-ICF, all the deep basal sections of the core are in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the Niels Bohr Institute, including the debris-laden ice and frozen sediment. The deepest samples we have from the Camp Century 63-66 core are from ~1230 to 1244 meters depth (tube #s 959-970). The cores are in various conditions, mostly on the poor side with a few exceptions. All cores are heavily frosted. Some, but not all, of the cores have core cards. It’s not clear whether the cores in these tubes are contiguous. Their shapes and diameters vary quite a bit, presumably from decades of sublimation. More often than not, the cores do not look full-round.

There are also two shallower cores drilled during 1961 (CC 61) and 1962 (CC 62) in inventory, and both of those cores are on the de-accession list. The CC 61 and CC 62 cores do not contain debris-laden ice or frozen sediment.

Core(s) Available

Core Name Core ID Years Drilled Lat/Long Core Top (m) Core Bottom (m) Core Diameter (cm) Site Elevation Drilling Method Drillers Drilling Fluid Original PI PI Affiliation De-accessed
CAMP CENTURY 1961 CC 61 1961 77.1666667, -61.1333333 11.89 185.98 12.40 1887 Thermal SIPRE (CRREL) Dry Chester Langway CRREL Yes
CAMP CENTURY 1962 CC 62 1962 77.1666667, -61.1333333 10.53 237.95 12.40 1887 Thermal USA CRREL Dry Chester Langway CRREL Yes
CAMP CENTURY 1963-66 CC 63-66 1963-1966 77.1666667, -61.1333333 12.13 1377.00 10.80 1887 Thermal / Electromechanical USA CRREL diesel/ trichloroethylene Chester Langway CRREL No
Data
Publications
  • Beer J, Siegenthaler U, Bonani G, Finkel RC, Oeschger H, Suter M, Wölfli W (1988) Information on past solar activity and geomagnetism from 10Be in the Camp Century ice core. Nature 331, 675-679. https://doi.org/10.1038/331675a0
  • Bentley CR and Koci BR (2007) Drilling to the beds of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets: a review. Annals of Glaciology, 47, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3189/172756407786857695
  • Bierman PR, Christ AJ, Collins CM, Mastro HM, Souza J, Blard P-H, Brachfeld S, Courville ZR, Rittenour TM, Thomas EK, Tison J-L, and Fripiat F (2024) Scientific history, sampling approach, and physical characterization of the Camp Century subglacial material, a rare archive from beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet. The Cryosphere, 18, 4029-4052. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4029-2024  
  • Christ AJ, Bierman PR, Schaefer JM, Dahl-Jensen D, Steffensen JP, Corbett LB, Peteet DM, Thomas EK, Steig EJ, Rittenour TM, Tison J-L, Blard P-H, Perdrial N, Dethier DP, Lini A, Hidy AJ, Caffee MW, Southon J (2021) A multimillion-year-old record of Greenland vegetation and glacial history preserved in sediment beneath 1.4 km of ice at Camp Century. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118 (13) e2021442118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2021442118
  • Christ AJ, Rittenour TM, Bierman PR, Keisling BA, Knutz PC, Thomsen TB, Keulen N, Fosdick JC, Hemming SR, Tison J, Blard P, Steffensen JP, Caffee MW, Corbett LB (2023) Deglaciation of northwestern Greenland during Marine Isotope Stage 11. Science, 381, 330-335. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ade4248
  • Collins CM, Perdrial N, Blard P-H, Keulen N, Mahaney WC, Mastro H, Souza J, Rizzo DM, Marrocchi Y, Knutz PC, and Bierman PR (2025) Characterization of the 1966 Camp Century subglacial core: a multiscale analysis. Climate of the Past, 21, 1359-1381. https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1359-2025   
  • Dansgaard W and Johnsen S (1969) A Flow Model and a Time Scale for the Ice Core from Camp Century, Greenland. Journal of Glaciology, 8(53), 215-223. https://doi.org/10.3189/S0022143000031208
  • Dansgaard W, Johnsen SJ, Møller J, Langway Jr CC. (1969) One Thousand Centuries of Climatic Record from Camp Century on the Greenland Ice Sheet. Science, 166(3903), 377-380. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.166.3903.377
  • Dansgaard W, Clausen HB, Gundestrup N, Hammer CU, Johnsen SF, Kristinsdottir PM, Reeh N (1982) A New Greenland Deep Ice Core. Science, 218, (4579), 1273-1277. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.218.4579.1273
  • Fountain J, Usselman TM, Wooden J, Langway CC (1981) Evidence of the Bedrock Beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet Near Camp Century, Greenland. Journal of Glaciology, 27, 193-197. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022143000011370
  • Hammer C, Clausen H, Dansgaard W, Gundestrup N, Johnsen S, Reeh N (1978) Dating of Greenland Ice Cores by Flow Models, Isotopes, Volcanic Debris, and Continental Dust. Journal of Glaciology, 20(82), 3-26. https://doi.org/10.3189/S0022143000021183
  • Hansen BL and Langway Jr CC (1966) Deep core drilling in ice and core analysis at Camp Century, Greenland, 1961-66. Antarctic Journal of the United States, 1(5), 207-208. CRREL Report No: MP 163. ISSN: 0003-5335.
  • Herron SL and Langway CC (1982) A Comparison of Ice Fabrics and Textures at Camp Century, Greenland and Byrd Station, Antarctica. Annals of Glaciology, 3, 118-124. https://doi.org/10.3189/s0260305500002639
  • Johnsen SJ, Dahl‐Jensen D, Gundestrup N, Steffensen JP, Clausen HB, Miller H, Masson‐Delmotte V, Sveinbjörnsdottir AE, White J (2001) Oxygen isotope and palaeotemperature records from six Greenland ice‐core stations: Camp Century, Dye‐3, GRIP, GISP2, Renland and NorthGRIP. J. Quaternary Sci., 16, 299-307. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.622
  • Langway CC (2008) The history of early polar ice cores. Cold Regions Science and Technology, 52, 101-117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2008.01.001
  • Neftel A, Oeschger H, Schwander J, Stauffer B, Zumbrunn R (1982) Ice core sample measurements give atmospheric CO2 content during the past 40,000 yr. Nature, 295, 220-223. https://doi.org/10.1038/295220a0
  • Voosen P (2019) Mud in storied ice core hints at a thawed Greenland. Science, 366 (6465), 556-557. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.366.6465.556