SYDNEY (WXYZ) — “So, what is the difference between ice you make at home in your freezer and ice here in Antarctica? The answer to that is bubbles!” said Austin Carter in one of his TikTok videos.
If Austin Carter had to pick a theme song, it would probably be “Ice Ice Baby.”
The 27-year-old doctoral student and Royal Oak native has been living on the southernmost continent for 50 days where researchers are drilling for ice.
“So, ice cores from Antarctica are this unique scientific resource... They contain a record of earth's climate that's pretty much unrivaled by other archives,” Carter explained.
7 Action News caught up with him in Sydney, Australia via ZOOM this week after he’d just wrapped up his third trip near the South Pole.
He joined researchers from 15 universities and the Center for Oldest Ice Exploration (COLDEX) to find the oldest ice on the planet and study the prehistoric dust particles trapped inside.
“What is the oldest core of ice you've uncovered?” 7 Action News asked Carter.
“So, our oldest ice sample that we've collected now is greater than 4 million years old… and this is the oldest ice that's ever been collected on the planet,” he revealed.
And he’s been serving up this polar science knowledge to the masses on social media.
“Here are five things we can and cannot do while living here in Antarctica,” Carter said in one post.
This video racked has up 27.5 million views on TikTok.
“My mother actually encouraged me. You know, she was like, 'You know, people really have a lot of questions. You should make an educational video,'” Carter said.
The most popular question he gets — where do you go to the bathroom?
”We pretty much have a designated bathroom tent and, um, you know, it's nothing fancy, but it works,” he revealed.
He says you really bond with people when you’re roughing it on a block of ice for days on end.
The whole trip was 75 days — 25 of them involved travel and training to cope with the harsh conditions.
“In Antarctica, it was like, with the wind chill, it's been -40 degrees — plus or minus ten degrees Fahrenheit. The winds are unforgiving, that's for sure,” Carter said.
A far cry from the halls of Royal Oak High School and the quad at the University of Michigan.
"It’s a rarity that somebody is able to even visit Antarctica. And Austin has been visited three times," said Al Carter — Austin's father.
His dad says Austin has made his family very proud, and he’s represented Royal Oak well.
"The flag from Royal Oak — was that your idea?” 7 Action News asked Al Carter.
“Yes, it was. My wife and I are very proud Royal Oakers and… we raised our family here, and we lived here, and my career was here at the police department as well as being recently retired. So, I just thought it'd be a cool thing for him to bring the Royal Oak flag all the way to Antarctica," Austin's father Al explained.
“Our flag is very rare. It only flies in four places. It's custom, it's expensive. We don't have a lot of them. And, uh, one of them traveled to the other side of the globe, and it's very it's very cool and very special,” said Judy Davids, Community Engagement Specialist for the City of Royal Oak.
Royal Oak was happy to loan one of these flags out to its favorite earth scientist.
“I picked a day where it was not windy, it was sunny, and it was a good day for a photo. And so I was able to take that picture… to serve as a reminder of the strong community support that has fueled my passion for scientific exploration," Carter said.
Once Austin Carter’s flag returns to Royal Oak, the city is going to fly it for 24 hours over city hall, and then eventually it will be on display at the local historical museum.
