Hot Water Drilling in Antarctic Firn, and Freezing Rates in Water-Filled Boreholes

• Main Author: Koci, Bruce R
• Other Authors: NEBRASKA UNIV LINCOLN
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1984
• Subjects: Machinery and Tools; *DRILLING MACHINES; ANTARCTIC REGIONS; BOILERS; BOREHOLES; DRILLING; FREEZING; HEAT EXCHANGERS; HOT WATER; ICE; RATES; ICE SHELVES; ROSS ICE SHELF; FIRN SNOW; COMPONENT REPORTS; Antarctic; Canada; Nozzle; Ross Ice Shelf; The Nozzle; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice Sheet; Ice Shelf; Ice Shelves
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADP004815; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADP004815

Hot water drilling systems are suitable for applications in which the objective is to gain rapid access to a glacier, ice sheet or ice shelf for seismic shooting, installing temperature sensors, access hole studies or retrieving stuck core drills. The Ross Ice Shelf Project (RISP) hot water drilling at J-9 showed that the decrease in water temperature at the nozzle was 1 C/30 m (1.8 F/100 ft) or depth. The boiler was rated at 2.5 million watts. It produced 320 l/m of water heated from 2 C to 98 C (1.75 million watts). The success of a smaller hot water system (150 kW) used by PICO in 1979-80 at Dome C, Antarctica, in ambient temperatures of -40 C illustrated the speed and reliability possible under extreme environmental conditions. This article is from 'Proceedings of the International Workshop/Symposium on Ice Drilling Technology (2nd) Held at Calgary, Alberta, Canada on 30-31 August 1982,' ADA156733, p101-103.