scholarly journals Deep ice core drilling to a depth of 3035.22 m at Dome Fuji, Antarctica in 2001–07

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Hideaki Motoyama ◽  
Akiyoshi Takahashi ◽  
Yoichi Tanaka ◽  
Kunio Shinbori ◽  
Morihiro Miyahara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Storage Efficiency ◽  
Core Drilling ◽  
Pilot Hole ◽  
Core Length ◽  
Drilling Data ◽  
Antarctic Research ◽  
Drilling System ◽  
Small Holes

Abstract The Japanese second deep ice coring project was carried out at Dome Fuji, Antarctica. Following the drilling of the pilot hole in 2001, deep ice core drilling led by the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE) was conducted over four austral summer seasons, beginning with the 2003/04 season and reached a depth of 3035.22 m near the bedrock in January 2007. The new drill was designed and developed with the goals of (1) solving the problems encountered during the first JARE deep coring drill and (2) achieving more efficient drilling. In particular, the maximum core length that can be drilled at one time was increased from 2.30 m to 3.84 m and the chip storage efficiency was enhanced by a special pipe with many small holes. This paper gives an outline of the improved drilling system, the progress of drilling and various drilling data.

scholarly journals The Berkner Island (Antarctica) ice-core drilling project

2007 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 115-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Mulvaney ◽  
Olivier Alemany ◽  
Philippe Possenti
Keyword(s):  
Melting Point ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Core Drilling ◽  
Drilling Operation ◽  
Drilling Technology ◽  
Pressure Melting ◽  
Small Team ◽  
Drilling Project

AbstractWe describe a project to retrieve a 948m deep ice core from Berkner Island, Antarctica. Using relatively lightweight logistics and a small team, the drilling operation over three austral summer seasons used electromechanical drilling technology, described in detail, from a covered shallow pit and a fluid-filled borehole. A basal temperature well below pressure-melting point meant that no drilling problems were encountered when approaching the bed and the borehole penetrated through to the base of the ice sheet, and sediment was retrieved from beneath the ice.

scholarly journals Air reverse circulation at the hole bottom in ice-core drilling

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (249) ◽  
pp. 149-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
ZHENGYI HU ◽  
PAVEL TALALAY ◽  
ZHICHUAN ZHENG ◽  
PINLU CAO ◽  
GUITAO SHI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Efficiency ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Core Drilling ◽  
Low Energy Consumption ◽  
Reverse Circulation ◽  
Drilling System ◽  
Conventional Drilling ◽  
Hole Bottom

ABSTRACTIce-core drilling to depths of 200–300 m is an important part of research studies concerned with paleoclimate reconstruction and anthropogenic climate change. However, conventional drilling methods face difficulties due to firn permeability. We have developed an electromechanical ice-core drill with air reverse circulation at the hole bottom. We believe that the new drilling system will recover ice cores faster than shallow auger drills, with high efficiency and low energy consumption. The theoretically estimated up-hole speed of the airflow should be not <7.7 m s−1 to allow proper removal of ice cuttings from the borehole bottom. The computer simulation and test results showed that the design of the new ice-coring drill is feasible. The maximum allowed penetration rate depends by square law on airflow.

scholarly journals Production drilling at WAIS Divide

2014 ◽  
Vol 55 (68) ◽  
pp. 147-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina R. Slawny ◽  
Jay A. Johnson ◽  
Nicolai B. Mortensen ◽  
Christopher J. Gibson ◽  
Joshua J. Goetz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Snow Surface ◽  
Scientific Interest ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Core Drilling ◽  
Core Samples ◽  
Drill Fluid ◽  
Drilling Operations

AbstractThe deep ice-sheet coring (DISC) drill was used for production ice-core drilling at WAIS Divide in Antarctica for six field seasons between 2007 and 2013. Continuous ice-core samples were obtained between the snow surface and 3405 m depth. During the 2012/13 austral summer, the DISC drill’s newly designed replicate ice-coring system was utilized to collect nearly 285m of additional high-quality core samples at depths of high scientific interest. Annual progress graphs are described, as well as milestones achieved over the course of the project. Drilling operations, challenges encountered, drill fluid usage, drilling results, and the drill crew’s experiences with the DISC drill and replicate coring system during production drilling are described and discussed in detail. Core-processing operations are described briefly, as well as the logistical undertaking of the DISC drill’s deployment to Antarctica.

scholarly journals Deep ice-core drilling to 800 m at Dome A in East Antarctica

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Zhengyi Hu ◽  
Guitao Shi ◽  
Pavel Talalay ◽  
Yuansheng Li ◽  
Xiaopeng Fan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Hole Drilling ◽  
Dome A ◽  
Core Drilling ◽  
Pilot Hole ◽  
The Troubles ◽  
Brittle Zone

Abstract A deep ice core was drilled at Dome A, Antarctic Plateau, East Antarctica, which started with the installation of a casing in January 2012 and reached 800.8 m in January 2017. To date, a total of 337 successful ice-core drilling runs have been conducted, including 118 runs to drill the pilot hole. The total drilling time was 52 days, of which eight days were required for drilling down and reaming the pilot hole, and 44 days for deep ice coring. The average penetration depths of individual runs were 1 and 3.1 m for the pilot hole drilling and deep ice coring, respectively. The quality of the ice cores was imperfect in the brittle zone (650−800 m). Some of the troubles encountered are discussed for reference, such as armoured cable knotting, screws falling into the hole bottom, and damaged parts, among others.

scholarly journals Chinese First Deep Ice-Core Drilling Project DK-1 at Dome A, Antarctica (2011-2013): progress and performance

2014 ◽  
Vol 55 (68) ◽  
pp. 88-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Zhang ◽  
Chunlei An ◽  
Xiaopeng Fan ◽  
Guitao Shi ◽  
Chuanjin Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drilling Fluid ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Dome A ◽  
Auxiliary Equipment ◽  
Core Drilling ◽  
Pilot Hole ◽  
Four Seasons ◽  
The Status ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Drilling Project

AbstractThe Chinese First Deep Ice-Core Drilling Project DK-1 has commenced at Kunlun station in the Dome A region, the highest plateau in Antarctica. During the first season, within the 28th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE) 2011/12 the pilot hole was drilled and reamed in order to install a 100 m deep fiberglass casing. In the next season, 29th CHINARE 2012/13, the deep ice-core drilling system was installed, and all the auxiliary equipment was connected and commissioned. After filling the hole with drilling fluid (n-butyl acetate), three runs of ‘wet’ ice-core drilling were carried out and a depth of 131.24 m was reached. Drilling to the bedrock at the target depth of ∼3100 m is planned to be completed during a further four seasons. We describe the work in progress and the status of equipment for the Dome A drilling project.

Byrd Station drilling 1966–69

2007 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 24-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert T. Ueda
Keyword(s):  
Ethylene Glycol ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Average Diameter ◽  
Diesel Oil ◽  
Core Drilling ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Drilling Operation ◽  
The Us

AbstractAfter completion of the drilling by the US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (USA-CRREL) at Camp Century, Greenland, in July 1966, the operation was moved to Byrd Station, Antarctica, during the 1966/67 austral summer. The drill employed was an electromechanical cable-suspended drill that used ethylene glycol to dissolve the chips formed, producing a core with an average diameter of 114 mm. A mixture of diesel oil and trichlorethylene was used as a borehole fluid. Ice-core drilling at Byrd Station occurred from 2 to 18 February 1967 and from 12 October 1967 to 2 February 1968 when the ice sheet was penetrated at a depth of 2164 m. During the ensuing 1968/69 season the drill was lost, and ultimately the cable was severed in early 1969/70 at a depth of 1545 m. This brief report reviews the drilling operation and some of the problems encountered primarily during the 1967/68 season, with a focus on the last few days of drilling.

scholarly journals Portable system for intermediate-depth ice-core drilling

2000 ◽  
Vol 46 (152) ◽  
pp. 167-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Zagorodnov ◽  
L. G. Thompson ◽  
E. Mosley-Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
Core Drilling ◽  
Franz Josef Land ◽  
Portable System ◽  
Electric Drill ◽  
Drilling System ◽  
Cost Efficient ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Minimal Environmental Impact

AbstractA lightweight, portable drilling system for coring up to 500 m depths has been developed and field-tested. The drilling system includes four major components: (1) an electromechanical (EM) dry-hole drill; (2) an ethanol thermal electric drill; (3) a drill set-up with a 500 m cable capacity; and (4) a controller unit. The system may be switched quickly from a dry-hole EM drill to an antifreeze thermal electric drill. This lightweight system makes ice-core drilling more cost-efficient, and creates a minimal environmental impact. The new EM drill, which recovers 100 mm diameter, 1 m long pieces of ice core, is 3.2 m long and weighs 35 kg. This drill and the drilling set-up were recently tested at the Raven (former Dye 2) site, southern Greenland, where a core was recovered to 122 m. The thermal drill is 2.9 m long and weighs 25 kg. It produces 100 mm diameter, 2.1 m long pieces of ice core, and was tested to 315 m in Franz Josef Land, Eurasian Arctic. The drilling set-up with a 250 m cable weighs about 100 kg (or 128 kg for 500 m of cable). After minor adjustments this drill system retrieved cores of better quality than those recovered by other drill systems under similar glaciological conditions. After adjustments to optimize its performance, the drill retrieved 5.25 m of core per hour over the depth range 0–21 m.

scholarly journals Brief Communication: New radar constraints support presence of ice older than 1.5 Ma at Little Dome C

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Lilien ◽  
Daniel Steinhage ◽  
Drew Taylor ◽  
Frédéric Parrenin ◽  
Catherine Ritz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flow Model ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Basal Region ◽  
Glacial Cycles ◽  
Ice Flow ◽  
Vhf Radar ◽  
New Instrument ◽  
Drill Site ◽  
Ice Core Record

Abstract. The area near Dome C, East Antarctica, is thought to be one of the most promising targets for recovering a continuous ice-core record spanning more than a million years. The European Beyond EPICA consortium has selected Little Dome C, an area ~35 km south-east of Concordia Station, to attempt to recover such a record. Here, we present the results of the final ice-penetrating radar survey used to refine the exact drill site. These data were acquired during the 2019–2020 Austral summer using a new, multi-channel high-resolution VHF radar operating in the frequency range of 170–230 MHz. This new instrument is able to detect reflections in the near-basal region, where previous surveys were unable to trace continuous horizons. The radar stratigraphy is used to transfer the timescale of the EPICA Dome C ice core (EDC) to the area of Little Dome C, using radar isochrones dating back past 600 ka. We use these data to derive the expected depth–age relationship through the ice column at the now-chosen drill site, termed BELDC. These new data indicate that the ice at BELDC is considerably older than that at EDC at the same depth, and that there is about 375 m of ice older than 600 ka at BELDC. Stratigraphy is well preserved to 2565 m, below which there is a basal unit with unknown properties. A simple ice flow model tuned to the isochrones suggests ages likely reach 1.5 Ma near 2525 m, ~40 m above the basal unit and ~240 m above the bed, with sufficient resolution (14±1 ka m−1) to resolve 41 ka glacial cycles.

scholarly journals A hot-water ice-coring drill

2000 ◽  
Vol 46 (153) ◽  
pp. 341-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Engelhardt ◽  
B. Kamb ◽  
R. Bolsey
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
New Method ◽  
Core Drilling ◽  
Water Ice ◽  
Water Jets

AbstractA new method of ice-core drilling uses an annulus of hot-water jets to melt out a cylindrical ice core. This lightweight device used in combination with a fast hot-water drill can quickly obtain ice cores from any depth.

scholarly journals A new portable ice-core drilling machine: application to tephra studies

1998 ◽  
Vol 44 (146) ◽  
pp. 179-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Casas ◽  
F. Sàbat ◽  
J. M. Vilaplana ◽  
J. M. Parés ◽  
D. M. Pomeroy
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Portable Device ◽  
Drill Bit ◽  
Drilling Machine ◽  
Tephra Layer ◽  
The South ◽  
Core Drilling

Abstract A new portable device for ice-core drilling, specially designed for thin tephra-layer sampling, was tested on the South Shetland glaciers during the 1994-95 Antarctic summer. The machine is based on a combination of the standard paleomagnetism drilling machine and a specially built drill-bit designed for ice-coring.

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