Development of a clean hot water drill to access Subglacial Lake CECs, West Antarctica
Abstract Recent drilling successes on Rutford Ice Stream in West Antarctica demonstrate the viability of hot water drilling subglacial access holes to depths >2000 m. Having techniques to access deep subglacial environments reliably paves the way for subglacial lake exploration beneath the thick...
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/aog.2020.88 2024-09-15T17:39:53+00:00 Development of a clean hot water drill to access Subglacial Lake CECs, West Antarctica Makinson, Keith Anker, Paul G. D. Garcés, Jonathan Goodger, David J. Polfrey, Scott Rix, Julius Silva, Alejandro Smith, Andrew M. Uribe, José A. Zamora, Rodrigo 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/aog.2020.88 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0260305520000889 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Annals of Glaciology volume 62, issue 85-86, page 250-262 ISSN 0260-3055 1727-5644 journal-article 2021 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2020.88 2024-07-10T04:03:28Z Abstract Recent drilling successes on Rutford Ice Stream in West Antarctica demonstrate the viability of hot water drilling subglacial access holes to depths >2000 m. Having techniques to access deep subglacial environments reliably paves the way for subglacial lake exploration beneath the thick central West Antarctic Ice Sheet. An ideal candidate lake, overlain by ~2650 m of ice, identified by Centro de Estudios Científicos (CECs), Chile, has led to collaboration with British Antarctic Survey to access Subglacial Lake CECs (SLCECs). To conform with the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research code of conduct, which provides a guide to responsible scientific exploration and stewardship of these pristine systems, any access drilling must minimise all aspects of contamination and disturbance of the subglacial environment. To meet these challenges, along with thicker ice and 2000 m elevation, pumping and water treatment systems developed for the Subglacial Lake Ellsworth project, together with new diesel generators, additional water heating and longer drill hose, are currently being integrated with the BEAMISH hot water drill. A dedicated test season near SLCECs will commission the new clean hot water drill, with testing and validation of all clean operating procedures. A subsequent season will then access SLCECs cleanly. Article in Journal/Newspaper Annals of Glaciology Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica British Antarctic Survey Ice Sheet Rutford Ice Stream Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research West Antarctica Cambridge University Press Annals of Glaciology 1 13 |
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Cambridge University Press |
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English |
description |
Abstract Recent drilling successes on Rutford Ice Stream in West Antarctica demonstrate the viability of hot water drilling subglacial access holes to depths >2000 m. Having techniques to access deep subglacial environments reliably paves the way for subglacial lake exploration beneath the thick central West Antarctic Ice Sheet. An ideal candidate lake, overlain by ~2650 m of ice, identified by Centro de Estudios Científicos (CECs), Chile, has led to collaboration with British Antarctic Survey to access Subglacial Lake CECs (SLCECs). To conform with the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research code of conduct, which provides a guide to responsible scientific exploration and stewardship of these pristine systems, any access drilling must minimise all aspects of contamination and disturbance of the subglacial environment. To meet these challenges, along with thicker ice and 2000 m elevation, pumping and water treatment systems developed for the Subglacial Lake Ellsworth project, together with new diesel generators, additional water heating and longer drill hose, are currently being integrated with the BEAMISH hot water drill. A dedicated test season near SLCECs will commission the new clean hot water drill, with testing and validation of all clean operating procedures. A subsequent season will then access SLCECs cleanly. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Makinson, Keith Anker, Paul G. D. Garcés, Jonathan Goodger, David J. Polfrey, Scott Rix, Julius Silva, Alejandro Smith, Andrew M. Uribe, José A. Zamora, Rodrigo |
spellingShingle |
Makinson, Keith Anker, Paul G. D. Garcés, Jonathan Goodger, David J. Polfrey, Scott Rix, Julius Silva, Alejandro Smith, Andrew M. Uribe, José A. Zamora, Rodrigo Development of a clean hot water drill to access Subglacial Lake CECs, West Antarctica |
author_facet |
Makinson, Keith Anker, Paul G. D. Garcés, Jonathan Goodger, David J. Polfrey, Scott Rix, Julius Silva, Alejandro Smith, Andrew M. Uribe, José A. Zamora, Rodrigo |
author_sort |
Makinson, Keith |
title |
Development of a clean hot water drill to access Subglacial Lake CECs, West Antarctica |
title_short |
Development of a clean hot water drill to access Subglacial Lake CECs, West Antarctica |
title_full |
Development of a clean hot water drill to access Subglacial Lake CECs, West Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Development of a clean hot water drill to access Subglacial Lake CECs, West Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Development of a clean hot water drill to access Subglacial Lake CECs, West Antarctica |
title_sort |
development of a clean hot water drill to access subglacial lake cecs, west antarctica |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/aog.2020.88 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0260305520000889 |
genre |
Annals of Glaciology Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica British Antarctic Survey Ice Sheet Rutford Ice Stream Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research West Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Annals of Glaciology Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica British Antarctic Survey Ice Sheet Rutford Ice Stream Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research West Antarctica |
op_source |
Annals of Glaciology volume 62, issue 85-86, page 250-262 ISSN 0260-3055 1727-5644 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2020.88 |
container_title |
Annals of Glaciology |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
13 |
_version_ |
1810483227703377920 |