The Berkner Island (Antarctica) ice-core drilling project

• Published in: Annals of Glaciology
• Main Authors: MULVANEY, Robert, ALEMANY, Olivier, POSSENTI, Philippe
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: International Glaciological Society 2007
• Subjects: Planète et Univers [physics]/Sciences de la Terre/Glaciologie; Austral; Berkner Island; Antarc*; Antarctica; ice core; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://oskar-bordeaux.fr/handle/20.500.12278/28331; https://doi.org/10.3189/172756407786857758

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.