The SUBGLACIOR drilling probe: hydraulic considerations

• Published in: Annals of Glaciology
• Main Authors: O. Alemany, P. Talalay, P. Boissonneau, J. Chappellaz, J. F. Chemin, R. Duphil, E. Lefebvre, L. Piard, P. Possenti, J. Triest
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press 2021
• Subjects: Glaciological instruments and methods; ice coring; ice engineering; paleoclimate; Meteorology. Climatology; QC851-999; Annals of Glaciology; ice core
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2020.79; https://doaj.org/article/a469b7858c034b8894cc7d1ee3cb375e

Using significant technological breakthroughs and unconventional approaches, the goal of the in situ probing of glacier ice for a better understanding of the orbital response of climate (SUBGLACIOR) project is to advance ice core research by inventing, constructing and testing an in situ probe to evaluate if a target site is suitable for recovering ice as old as 1.5 million years. Embedding a laser spectrometer, the probe is intended to make its own way down into the ice and to measure, in real time and down to the bedrock, the depth profiles of the ice δD water isotopes as well as the trapped CH4 gas concentration and dust concentration. The probe descent is achieved through electromechanical drilling combined with continuous meltwater sample production using a central melting finger in the drill head. A key aspect of the project lies in the design and implementation of an efficient method to continuously transfer to the surface the ice chips being produced by the drill head and from the refreezed water expulsed downstream from the melting finger, into the borehole. This paper presents a detailed calculation and analysis of the flow rates and pressure conditions required to overcome friction losses of the drilling fluid and to effectively transport ice chips to the surface.