The U.S. Ice Drilling Program comprises scientists seeking to better understand evidence of the past archived in polar ice sheets and high-latitude glaciers, along with drillers who enable the science.
Why Ice Drilling?
Polar ice sheets and high-altitude glaciers are unique natural archives containing high-resolution climate data including samples of abrupt change, ancient air, and ancient life.
Discoveries about changes in climate and the environment, using evidence from glaciers and ice sheets, inform environmental policy.
The National Science Foundation has recently formed the Ice Drilling Program Office (IDPO) to coordinate long-term and short-term planning in collaboration with the greater US ice science community, and to oversee the Ice Drilling Design and Operations group (IDDO), to ensure that the drilling technology will be there when the science needs it.