The whisper of ancient air bubbles in polar ice

Can we use the sound of bursting bubbles in ancient polar ice in order to reconstruct the elevation changes the Greenland Ice Sheet has undergone over the last 10,000 years? We propose here the development of a measurement technique that will help us test a fundamental hypothesis of Greenland ice core studies according to which the small ice cap of Renland in East Greenland has not undergone significant elevation changes during the Holocene. The hypothesis is central to the understanding of the state of the Greenland Ice Sheet during the present interglacial period called the Holocene epoch and has been used to correct the isotopic records of deep ice cores from central Greenland for the last 10,000 years. The hypothesis is also pivotal for the accuracy of predictions of sea level rise. The idea to use the sonic signature signal of the air bubbles in the ice is unique, has never been attempted before and can potentially yield reconstructions of high accuracy and resolution.