epica

EPICA is a name used for multiple distinct topics, most notably a European scientific project and a Dutch music group. The two principal references are the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica, a major climate science program, and Epica, a symphonic metal band formed in the Netherlands in 2002.

EPICA (European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica) was an international scientific collaboration designed to retrieve long ice cores from Antarctica to improve understanding of past climate conditions. Drilling was conducted at the Dome C site on the East Antarctic plateau, and the project produced ice cores reaching depths of about 3,000 meters, providing a climate record that extends roughly 800,000 years into the past. The data yielded insights into historical atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, temperature changes, and the dynamics of glacial–interglacial cycles. The project involved researchers from multiple European institutions and contributed to long-term climate research and the calibration of climate models. The Dome C cores remain a key resource for paleo-climate studies and are complemented by subsequent ice-core work in Antarctica and elsewhere.

Epica, the band, is a Dutch symphonic metal group formed in 2002 in the Netherlands. It was founded by guitarist Mark Jansen after his departure from After Forever, and it features lead vocalist Simone Simons. Epica combines heavy guitar riffs with orchestral arrangements and operatic-style vocals. The band released its debut album, The Phantom Agony, in 2003, followed by Consign to Oblivion in 2005, and has since issued several further albums, achieving European and North American chart presence and becoming a prominent act in the genre.