AIST Research Group Announces First Success in 3D Visualization of Air-hydrates in Antarctic Ice.

Tokyo, Japan, Aug 29, 2006 - (JCN) - An AIST-led research have announced the non-destructive 3D visualization of air-hydrate crystals, which transformed from ice and paleatmosphere confined in Antarctic ice.

This visualization has been achieved by developing a sample chamber for phase contrast X-ray CT device. The experimental method enables the detection of the global environmental variations which the earth has experienced for the past several hundred thousand years.

Presently, measuring time is approximately 30 min. The group hope to enhance the measuring efficiency of the device as an analysis tool by shortening this time. The improvement will lead to establish a system for systematic measuring of many samples of air-hydrate crystalline grains, and to advance the study of global environments by clarifying the history of climate and atmosphere variations.

The group also hope to apply the technique to the measurement and non-destructive, in-situ observation of various functional materials in energy-related fields.

The group was led by Satoshi Takeya of the Nano-Dynamics Analysis Research Group of the Research Institute of Instrumentation Frontier of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), jointly with Hitachi Ltd., Tsukuba University, and the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, in collaboration with the Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, and the National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR).

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