First successful drilling at Swiss drill test site

Barbara and Jakob inspecting the drill lying on top of the box after the successful drilling. A tourist popped in to the right.

Over the last week, Jakob and Barbara have been fighting various issues at the Swiss test drill site. They are testing a new mechanical miniature drill that is driven by the pressure of drill liquid. The drill does not produce an ice core, but it has the potential to make fast-access drilling, which is much less costly and faster than conventional deep drilling. Although the principle is simple, many things can go wrong when testing a completely new technique. Today the drilling succeeded for the first time as the drill penetrated 2 m from the bottom of the 70 m hole where the casing is installed. A great success! Congratulations!

Besides, there has been plenty of activity in camp: Work continued for the assemblage of the ice core buffer, a fence was build around the inclined trench, and the 4-inch ‘Hans Tausen’ drill has been set up some 300m west of camp ready to start drilling the EGRIP 2016 S1 shallow core tomorrow. The S1 core will eventually bring the climate profile of the main core up to present day. The main core will be drilled from the bottom of the inclined trench at some 15 m below surface and will not cover the most recent period.

What we have done today:

1.    First two meters of controlled drilling at Swiss drill test site!
2.    Finished assembling 2 out of 3 ice core buffer sections
3.    Resampled snow surface profile in the clean snow area
4.    Build fence around inclined trench
5.    Assembled beds for expected visitors
6.    Set up 4-inch HT drill for EGRIP 2016 S1 core
7.    Cleaned up on cargo line and exchanged fuel tanks
8.    Made cooks freezer inventory

Weather today: Overcast and light snowfall in the morning, sunny from noon onwards. Temp. -11 °C last night increasing -7 °C in the afternoon and dropping to -16 C in the evening. A windy day with 12-18 kt starting SW and turning W. Wind dropping at night.

FL, Anders Svensson