Editing 2902: Ice Core

{{comic
| number    = 2902
| date      = March 4, 2024
| title     = Ice Core
| image     = ice_core_2x.png
| imagesize = 318x333px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = If you find an ash deposition layer from a year in which an eruption destroyed an island that had Camellia sinensis growing on it, you can make a Gone Island Ice_τ.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a PALEOCLIMATOLOGIST CELEBRATING A 21st BIRTHDAY - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Some people may like to taste a wine dated to the year they were born, or perhaps are subject to it as a family tradition, This would more typically be for a special occasion such as a milestone birthday than because it happens to be a 'good year' for the wine(s) they favor (unless they were particularly fortunate). Reaching the legal drinking age would be an appropriate opportunity to partake in a wine that is the same age as themselves.  This comic extends this practice into a joke that paleoclimatologists, who study the climate, use dated ice instead of dated wine, drilling into the ground to find the layer of ice matching the birth year of the recipient, either to drink 'neat' (once sufficiently melted) or as the '{{w|Bartending terminology#On the rocks|on the rocks}}' part of another drink, perhaps a cocktail.

[[Megan]], a {{w|paleoclimatologist}}, decides to make a cocktail with the ice from the icesheets (present in the Arctic and Antarctic, for example). Normally, scientists would try to date the ice and then use it to describe the state of the climate when these icesheets formed. Here, Megan tries to find the ice layer corresponding to [[Knit Cap]]'s birth year with the intent of using the ice for the chosen drink. The caption asserts that this method of creating drinks is “traditional” for paleoclimatologists. She then asks if Knit Cap has the cocktail shaker that they presumably brought to the site ready. Cocktail shakers are used in the preparation of many mixed drinks, which often contain ice (usually produced by refrigeration, rather than harvested from natural sources).

The title text says that if they manage to find some ice with ash coming from an eruption which destroyed an island with {{w|Camellia sinensis}} growing on it, they'll be able to make a cocktail called a 'Gone Island Ice_τ', which is a punning reference to the cocktail known as a {{w|Long Island iced tea}}. Camellia sinensis (common name, "tea plant") is generally used for making tea, so this cocktail would have tea infused into the ice. The Greek letter tau is used in place of "tea". The joke here may be that this character is used in various fields to denote time, and presumably in this case refers to the time the ice deposit in question dates to. Or it may be a reference to the [https://icecube.wisc.edu/news/research/2023/01/icecube-reports-first-detection-of-candidate-astrophysical-tau-neutrinos/ IceCube Collaboration's] "reported two candidate events for the final unobserved Standard Model cosmic messenger: astrophysical tau neutrinos".  Who knew that the rapper and actor was also an astrophysics stud?

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Knit Cap and Megan both wearing knit caps and scarves in a snowy environment taking a look at an ice drill. There is a helicopter on the ground in the background, with their footprints between them and the helicopter. Knit Cap is holding a small container between her hands while Megan is holding the middle of the drill.]
:Megan: Next, we'll identify the ice core layer matching your birth year. Do you have the shaker ready?

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Making the traditional paleoclimatologist cocktail

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Characters with hats]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Food]]