A COVENTRY University scientist is using ‘rocks as clocks’ to help predict what may happen in the fight against climate change.
Dr Geraint Jenkins and colleagues from universities in China gathered rocks from the Tibetan Plateau which is the highest plateau on Earth.
They carried out scientific tests on the samples to see how old they were.
Rocks collect energy which is emitted as light during the experiment, called luminescence, which were measured and found to be around 18,000 years old.
This means an ice glacier once covered the Tibetan Plateau, giving an insight into when the glacier was there and how long it took to disappear.
Scientists can now look at past climate change and Dr Jenkins hopes it can be developed to be used on ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica to show how large they used to be.
Dr Jenkins, a lecturer in physical geography, said: “Handling and analysing a rock that was last exposed to daylight 18,000 years ago is certainly awe-inspiring.
“Who would have thought that by simply slicing this rock we could see that light once penetrated into the sub-surface 18,000 years ago.
“This technique can be used to date moraines – materials and debris left behind by a glacier – that are found all around the margin of Greenland, which is incredibly exciting and we hope to measure those very soon.
“We know that glaciers and ice sheets extended much greater than they are now but finding out when is the key question.
“We hope to date other landscapes in the Tibetan Plateau and also the margins of Greenland, and hope that this new technique becomes routine in calculating the timings of ancient ice sheets and glaciers.”
