The Berkner Island (Antarctica) ice-core drilling project

International audience We describe a project to retrieve a 948 m deep ice core from Berkner Island, Antarctica. Using relatively lightweight logistics and a small team, the drilling operation over three austral summer seasons used electromechanical drilling technology, described in detail, from a co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of Glaciology
Main Authors: Mulvaney, Robert, Alemany, Olivier, Possenti, Philippe
Other Authors: British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: HAL CCSD 2007
Subjects:
Online Access:https://insu.hal.science/insu-00377200
https://insu.hal.science/insu-00377200/document
https://insu.hal.science/insu-00377200/file/div-class-title-the-berkner-island-antarctica-ice-core-drilling-project-div.pdf
https://doi.org/10.3189/172756407786857758
Description
Summary:International audience We describe a project to retrieve a 948 m deep ice core from Berkner Island, Antarctica. Using relatively lightweight logistics and a small team, the drilling operation over three austral summer seasons used electromechanical drilling technology, described in detail, from a covered shallow pit and a fluid-filled borehole. A basal temperature well below pressure-melting point meant that no drilling problems were encountered when approaching the bed and the borehole penetrated through to the base of the ice sheet, and sediment was retrieved from beneath the ice.