Winkie Drill

Description

The Winkie Drill is a commercially-available rock coring system originally purchased by IDP in 2015. IDP has implemented upgrades to add ice augering and ice coring capabilities. The system has a depth capability of 120 meters and creates ice and rock cores 33.4 mm (1.3-inch) in diameter. Modifications were subsequently made to accommodate a request for larger core diameter (71.7 mm) as well as replacement of the gas engine with an electric motor, for improved reliability and to allow for operation inside a tent. In 2018, IDP engineers incorporated modifications for use of the drill in areas where surface firn covers the ice and bedrock below. In 2020 and 2021, IDP built a second Winkie Drill, referred to as Winkie 2, to meet funded field project demands. A new fluid chiller was designed and fabricated to mitigate warm temperatures and drilling challenges, and a slip-style foot clamp assembly was also implemented recently to improve safety when tripping drill rod and casing into and out of the borehole. In 2023, an electronic pressure relief valve (PRV) was implemented to reduce the potential for a hydro fracture event while drilling through ice, and new core barrels and bits with greater clearances were implemented to help with cuttings and fluid transport in mixed media and clay.

Both Winkie Drills are deployed regularly to the Arctic and Antarctic. An Eclipse Drill is currently sent with each system to drill pilot holes.

The Winkie Drill is one of two rock coring drills in the IDP inventory (see also ASIG Drill).

Equipment Details

Name Winkie Drill
Type
Type
Rock Coring; Ice Coring/Augering
Number in Inventory
Number in Inventory
2
Max. Practical Depth
Max. Practical Depth
120 m using standard AW34 drill rod. Designed as a rock drill so should also be possible with enough time and fluid to drill 120 m of rock core.
Hole Diameter
Hole Diameter
50 - 52 mm (augering)
86 mm
Ice Core Diameter
Ice Core Diameter
33.4 mm
71.7 mm
Ice Core Length
Ice Core Length
1.5 m
Rock Core Diameter
Rock Core Diameter
33.4 mm
Rock Core Length
Rock Core Length
1.5 m
IDP Driller Required?
IDP Driller Required?
Yes, 1 driller (2 people required for drill operation)
Drill Fluid Required?
Drill Fluid Required?
Yes
Trench Required?
Trench Required?

No

Power Requirements/Source
Power Requirements/Source
Generator 2.5 kW
Estimated Drilling Time
Estimated Drilling Time

Augering Ice: 0.4-0.5 m/min rate of penetration
Coring Ice: ?
Rock: 0.02-0.05 m/min rate of penetration
Above values do not include rod tripping time (can be significant in deep holes)

Time to Move (breakdown and setup)
Time to Move (breakdown and setup)
3 hours (set up time)
Helicopter Transportable?
Helicopter Transportable?
Yes
Light Aircraft Transportable?
Light Aircraft Transportable?
Yes
Shipping Weight
Shipping Weight

6,800 lbs (120 m)

Shipping Volume (Cube)
Shipping Cube

110

Restrictions
Restrictions

In light of use of a drilling fluid, it is critical to select sites where the ice is frozen to the bedrock and is free of cracks and/or the presence of liquid water. Any voids within the ice or near the bed will result in a pressure drop and loss of fluid flow and would halt drilling. In addition, site selection should favor areas where the bed geometry and ice flow minimize pre-existing stresses present in the ice, reducing the risk of hydro fracture during drilling.

Documents

Citation Year
Mary R Albert, Kristina R Slawny, Jay A Johnson, Elliot Moravec, Tanner W Kuhl (2024) Drilling Ice and Subglacial Rock Cores for Scientific Discovery in a Changing Climate. In: Glaciers - Recent Research, Importance to Humanity and the Effects of Climate Change. IntechOpen. Edited by Emeritus Prof. Stuart Arthur Harris, doi: 10.5772/intechopen.1004695. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.1004695 2024
Scott Braddock, Ryan Venturelli, Keir Nichols, Elliot Moravec, Grant Boeckmann, Seth Campbell, Greg Balco, Robert Ackert, David Small, Joanne S Johnson, Nelia Dunbar, John Woodward, Sujoy Mukhopadhyay, Brent Goehring (2024) Lessons learned from shallow subglacial bedrock drilling campaigns in Antarctica. Annals of Glaciology, 1-11. doi: 10.1017/aog.2024.12. https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2024.12 2024
NSF Ice Drilling Program (2024) Winkie Drill Operations and Maintenance Manual. 1-47. 2024
Grant Boeckmann, Chris J Gibson, Tanner W Kuhl, Elliot Moravec, Jay A Johnson, Zachary Meulemans, Kristina R Slawny (2021) Adaptation of the Winkie Drill for subglacial bedrock sampling. Annals of Glaciology, 62, (84), 109-117. doi: 10.1017/aog.2020.73. https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2020.73 2021
Mary R Albert, Kristina R Slawny, Grant Boeckmann, Chris J Gibson, Jay A Johnson, Keith Makinson, Julius Rix (2020) Recent Innovations in Drilling in Ice. Chapter 6 of Advances in Terrestrial Drilling: Ground, Ice and Underwater, Bar-Cohen and Zacny, eds., 157-220. https://www.routledge.com/Advances-in-Terrestrial-Drilling-Ground-Ice-and-Under… 2020
Allie Balter, Lucas H Beem, John W Goodge, Sean Gulick, Chloe Gustafson, David Harwood, Jennifer Lamp, Amy Leventer, Amelia Schevenell, Matthew R Siegfried, Perry Spector, John Stone, Slawek Tulaczyk, Sophie Warny, Paul Winberry, Dale Winebrenner, Duncan Young (2019) Assessment of East Antarctic Ice Sheet sensitivity to warming and its potential for contributions to sea level rise. Ice Drilling Program Subglacial Access Working Group Science Planning Workshop, March 29-30, 2019, Herndon, Virginia, USA, 1-18. 2019
Kristin Poinar, Jennifer Lamp, Allie Balter, Perry Spector, Dale Winebrenner, Slawek Tulaczyk (2019) Subglacial Access Working Group (SAWG): Access Drilling Priorities in Greenland. Ice Drilling Program Subglacial Access Working Group Science Planning Workshop, March 29-30, 2019, Herndon, Virginia, USA, 1-7. 2019
Perry Spector, John Stone, Nathaniel Lifton, Robert Ackert, Brent Goehring, Greg Balco, Bill McIntosh, Seth Campbell, Matt Zimmerer, Trista J Vick-Majors, Dale Winebrenner (2019) Drilling priorities to determine the past extent of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Ice Drilling Program Subglacial Access Working Group Science Planning Workshop, March 29-30, 2019, Herndon, Virginia, USA, 1-10. 2019

Photos

Project History

2024 Arctic - Collaborative Research: GreenDrill: The response of the northern Greenland Ice Sheet to Arctic Warmth - Direct constrains from sub-ice bedrock
2023 Arctic - Collaborative Research: GreenDrill: The response of the northern Greenland Ice Sheet to Arctic Warmth - Direct constraints from sub-ice bedrock
2022-2023 Antarctic - NSF-NERC: Geological History Constraints on the Magnitude of Grounding Line Retreat in the Thwaites Glacier System
2019-2020 Antarctic - Geological History Constraints on the Magnitude of Grounding Line Retreat in the Thwaites Glacier System
2017-2018 Antarctic - Buried Glacier Ice Masses, Ong Valley, Transantarctic Mountains
2016-2017 Antarctic - Ohio Range Bedrock Samples

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