Here you will find equipment that is currently in development, being proposed for development, and/or being proposed for acquisition by the U.S. Ice Drilling Program.
Replicate Ice Coring System | Intermediate-Depth Drill | Intermediate-Depth Logging Winch | Rapid Access Ice Drill (RAID)
Replicate Ice Coring System
Replicate coring is the act of deviating out of an existing borehole to collect additional ice samples from depth intervals of particular interest.
Replication of results is fundamental to science, and the ability to obtain additional ice samples from "intervals of scientific interest" will aid in the replication and verification of key results from ice core science. In addition, within a given ice core, scientific demand for ice samples is very unevenly distributed, with the ice core archive being completely depleted in depth intervals of high scientific interest. Replicate coring allows scientists to obtain additional ice samples from intervals of high scientific interest without needing to re-locate the drill to bore another hole.
The Replicate Ice Coring System collects additional ice at depths of interest by deploying into an existing borehole and then deviating from it. The drill uses two steering actuator sections to tilt itself in the parent borehole by applying sidewards force against the borehole wall. The sidewards force causes the drill to preferentially "cut" into the "up hill" side of the borehole wall with a broaching head. The process of preferentially broaching the "up hill" side of the borehole wall is repeated until a separate borehole is created. The broaching head is then replaced with a coring head, the actuators tilt and guide the drill into the replicate borehole, and additional ice samples are collected via traditional ice coring.
The Replicate Ice Coring System will be field-tested at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide deep ice coring site in Antarctica in January 2012. Production drilling with the system is planned for the 2012-2013 Antarctic field season at WAIS Divide.
The Replicate Ice Coring System is designed to be used with the Deep Ice Sheet Coring (DISC) Drill and thus requires substantial logistics and infrastructure support. However, the design and engineering behind the system is such that it can be scaled down for use with smaller, more agile drilling systems as well.
Intermediate-Depth Drill
In the IDPO Long Range Science Plan, the U.S. science community identified the retrieval of cores to depths of 1000-1500 meters for the IPICS 2k array and 40k network as a high priority. IDDO currently has drills capable of drilling to depths of approximately 300 meters with good core quality. The DISC Drill is capable of coring to depths of approximately 4000 meters with excellent core quality; the DISC Drill, however, is large and requires substantial logistics and infrastructure support which precludes its use for the coring of 1000-1500 and shallower holes. The science community, IDPO/IDDO, and NSF consequently agreed that a dedicated intermediate depth drill be developed.
The design of the U.S. Intermediate- Depth Drill (IDD) will be similar to the Danish Hans Tausen Drill and the recently completed intermediate depth drill built by the Antarctic Research Centre of Victoria University of Wellington, with upgrades including a 2-meter core length.
The IDD will be sufficiently portable that it can be used for coring at a wide variety of sites, and capable of retrieving 98 mm diameter core from the surface down to 1500 meters depth in two field seasons.
In addition to the drill itself, the IDD conceptual design includes the following ancillary items:
- Power system: three 10kW diesel generators
- Core Processing System: core barrel puller, trays, vacuum, saw, and tables
- Structures: one 16’ x 72’ Polarhaven for housing the drilling and core processing operations and a second 10’ x 16’ Polarhaven for housing the generators
The IDD will be designed and constructed to be transportable by Twin Otter or Bell 212 (or similar) helicopter. For field projects lasting more than one season, most equipment will be left onsite to "winter-over". To drill to 1500 meters depth in two field seasons, a 9 person field-team for 24-hour per day drilling and core handling operations is envisioned.
From discussions with the research community and discussions with IDDO staff, a set of science requirements for the IDD have been developed:
Science Requirements - Intermediate Ice Coring Drill
IDDO expects to complete the detailed design by the end of calendar year 2012, with an aim to have an operational, tested drill by the end of FFY2014, in time for deployment to Antarctica for the 2014- 2015 field season.
Intermediate-Depth Logging Winch
Acquisition of logging winches for the borehole logging community is one of the high-priority items identified in the Long Range Science Plan. Through many discussions with the borehole logging community, a set of science requirements for an intermediate-depth winch have been developed. The intermediate-depth winch will be capable of logging holes 1200-1500 meters deep, operate at temperatures as low as -45 degrees C, transportable by a single Twin Otter flight, and is intended for general community use. IDPO Science Advisory Board member Ryan Bay will serve as the science community user contact for IDDO as they pursue acquisition of the winch.
Rapid Access Ice Drill
During the April 2011 Ice Drilling Science Community Planning Meeting, the need for a rapid access ice drilling (RAID) system was articulated. The objective behind the RAID system is to drill through 3.3 kilometers of ice in a week, taking pieces of ice core along the way, and then recover up to 25 meters of bedrock core. Such a drill has long been desired by the glaciology and geology communities; after the April workshop, John Goodge (University of Minnesota-Duluth) asked for IDPO/IDDO assistance in generating information that could support a Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) proposal for a RAID drill that he will submit in January 2012. In October 2011, IDPO held a meeting in Madison, WI attended by scientists John Goodge and Jeff Severinghaus (UC-San Diego), IDDO engineers, industry experts, and IDPO to discuss possibilities and tradeoffs of technologies associated with development of a RAID system. The science requirements, initially compiled during the April 2011 IDPO Community Planning workshop, have been subsequently refined by John Goodge and Jeff Severinghaus as part of the scientist-engineer-logistics discussions in biweekly IDPO-organized webteleconferences following the October meeting. An IDDO team led by Michael Gerasimoff evaluated the feasibility of several possible technologies on the basis of meeting science requirements, cost and logistical burden. By the end of December 2011, IDDO had substantially developed a concept for the drill that would meet the science requirements at a reasonable cost and logistical burden. IDDO will produce a report in January 2012 that includes a technical description of the drill system concept, estimates of cost, and schedule for development. Using the input provided by IDPO/IDDO, John Goodge will submit an MRI proposal in January 2012 for construction of the drill.
