Willi Dansgaard

Willi Dansgaard was the first to realise that ice cores drilled from the ice sheet could contain information about past climate.

The story of his career is also the story of how a good idea in 1952 could develop into an international sensation in 1969 and then turn into an entirely new branch of climate research and geophysics.

A Danish pioneer

Willi Dansgaard was the first to realise that ancient water in the form of ice could contain…
Greenland 1947

The lifelong love for Greenland begins in 1947 when Willi Dansgaard is stationed in Godhavn where h…
A really good idea

After many trials and tribulations Willi Dansgaard finally returns to the Biophysical Laboratory,…
Back to Greenland

After a year in the United States, Dansgaard gets a contract for a new Greenland expedition and the…
The Bubble Expedition

The Bubble Expedition in 1958 gives Dansgaard the opportunity to test his theory on a specific…
IAEA and the Tellus article

Professor Dansgaard makes a name for himself internationally with the Tellus article, but the Sovie…
The city under ice

In 1967, Willi Dansgaard and his group get to analyse an ice core from the world’s first drilling…
Drilling at Dye 3

The group builds their own ice drill, ISTUK, from scratch and it proves problematic. But they…
The perfect drilling site

The long-standing collaboration with the Americans falls apart and old friends become competitors i…
The legacy of Dansgaard

The Centre for Ice and Climate is a world leader in drilling techniques and ice core research and…

**Marie Dyekjær Eriksen** has a Master of Arts in Danish literature and history, and today she works with communication, writing, layout, graphics and illustrations.

Niels Bohr Institute

Willi Dansgaard

A Danish pioneer

Greenland 1947

A really good idea

Back to Greenland

The Bubble Expedition

IAEA and the Tellus article

The city under ice

Drilling at Dye 3

The perfect drilling site

The legacy of Dansgaard

Marie Dyekjær Eriksen