Equipment

IDDO maintains and operates existing ice drilling equipment and develops new systems with two principal foci:
1. to provide high quality ice cores, and
2. to produce boreholes that provide access to the interior and beds of ice sheets and glaciers for such purposes as embedding instruments, collecting gas samples, setting seismic charges, studying subglacial processes, and studying subglacial geology.



Equipment Matrix

Click on the equipment names below to learn more about the equipment. You can also download an Excel spreadsheet version of this matrix.

  EQUIPMENT
2inch 4inch hand auger badger-eclipse blue ice chipmunk DISC drill electrothermal IDD koci drill PHWD prairie dog RAM drill Sidewinder powerdrive logging winch
characteristic Drill Type                              
Coring x x x x x x x x x x   x      
Non-coring                     x   x    
Drilling Condition/Material                              
Firn x x x x x x   x x x x x x    
Ice x x x x x   x x x x x x x    
Silty/rocky ice                   x x        
Warm ice             x x     x        
Max. Practical Depth (meters)                              
≤ 0.5           x                  
≤ 10                              
≤ 15         x                    
≤ 30                     x        
≤ 40 x   xa                 x   x  
≤ 50                   x          
≤ 90                         x    
≤ 200               x              
≤ 400   x   x                      
≤ 1,500                 x           x
≤ 4,000             x                
Helicopter Transportable?                              
Yes x x x x x x   x x x x x   x  
Light Aircraft Transportable?                              
Yes x x x x x x   x x x x x   x x
IDDO Driller(s) Required?                              
Yes x x   x x   x x x x x x x    
Drill Fluid Needed                              
Yes             x   x            
Core Diameter (mm)                              
51 (2-inch) x         x                  
76 (3-inch)     x             x          
81       x                      
86               x              
98                 x            
102     x                 x      
104   x                          
122             x                
127                              
241 (9.5 inches)         x                    
Typical Science Use                              
Fast Access Holes                     x   x    
Ice Coring, Deep             x                
Ice Coring, Intermediate                 x            
Ice Coring, Shallow x x x x x x   x   x   x   x  
Shot Holes (seismic)                     x   x    
Subglacial Access                              
  Number Currently in Inventory 1 1   3 1 1 1 1 0c 1 2 0d 1 3 0e

a with use of sidewinder drive/lifting system. Max depth to which hand augers without power assistance can be used is ~20 meters.
b depth limited by the number of flights in inventory
c in development
d had 1 in inventory but got stuck in Lake Vida borehole during 2010-11 Antarctic field season
e seeking procurement