Discover IDP
Long Range Science Plan
Integrated planning for U.S. ice coring and drilling
Ice Bits Newsletter
Newsletter of the NSF Ice Drilling Program
ECR Perspectives on Ice Core Science
Articles for undergraduate students and ice core adjacent researchers
Ice Drilling and Borehole Logging Equipment
Explore the equipment available to the U.S. science community
Requesting Field Support
Learn how to request field support from IDP
icedrill-education.org
Home of IDP's education & outreach program
News
Join Our Email List
Subscribe to the NSF Ice Drilling Program email list to receive the latest news and announcements revelant to the ice drilling and ice coring science and technology communities.
Current Fieldwork
2024-2025 Antarctic
- Center for OLDest Ice Exploration (COLDEX)
- Collaborative Research: Constraining West Antarctic Ice Sheet Elevation during the last Interglacial
- Collaborative Research: EAGER: Dating Glacier Retreat and Readvance near Mount Waesche, West Antarctica
- NSFGEO-NERC: Investigating the Direct Influence of Meltwater on Antarctic Ice Sheet Dynamics
- Collaborative Research: Using New Ice Cores from Dome C to Test the Assumption of a Constant Galactic Cosmic Ray Flux and Improve Understanding of the Holocene Methane Budget
Upcoming Fieldwork
Program Information
The U.S. National Science Foundation Ice Drilling Program (IDP) is a NSF-funded facility. IDP conducts integrated planning for the ice drilling science and technology communities, and provides drilling technology and operational support that enables the community to advance the frontiers of climate and environmental science.
Requesting Field Support
If you are preparing a NSF proposal that includes any kind of support from IDP, you must include a Letter of Support from IDP in the proposal. Researchers are asked to provide IDP with a detailed support request six weeks prior to the date the Letter of Support is required. Early submissions are strongly encouraged.
Long Range Plans
Science Requirements
White Papers
- Basal Access and Sampling Feasibility Study (2022)
- Workshop Report - U.S. Scientific Traverses on the Greenland Ice Sheet: Community Planning Workshop (2021)
- IDP Ice Core Working Group: Community Recommendations for the NSF Ice Core Facility (2020)
- IDP Ice Core Working Group (IDP-ICWG): Alpine Glaciers and Ice Caps (2020)
- IDP Ice Core Working Group (IDP-ICWG): Paleoclimate Ice Core Research Priorities in Antarctica (2020)
Meeting Presentations, Reports, etc.
- Presentations: 2024 AGU Town Hall TH35H - Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions (2024)
- Presentations: 2023 Ice Core Working Group Meeting (May 11, 2023) (2023)
- Presentations: 2023 Science Advisory Board Meeting (May 1, 2023) (2023)
- Technical Assistance Board 2023 Meeting: Agenda and Minutes (2023)
- Presentations: 2022 Science Advisory Board Meeting (March 3-4, 2022) (2022)
- Presentations: 2022 Ice Core Working Group Meeting (February 17, 2022) (2022)
Ice Drilling Technology Publications
- Exploring Antarctic subglacial lakes with RECoverable Autonomous Sonde (RECAS): Design and first field tests (2024) Science China Technological Sciences
- Advances in Drill-Based Sampling Technology for Extraterrestrial Bodies (2024) Space Science Reviews
- The Antarctic Subglacial Hydrological Environment and International Drilling Projects: A Review (2024) Water
- Research into mechanical modeling based on characteristics of the fracture mechanics of ice cutting for scientific drilling in polar regions (2024) The Cryosphere
- Drilling Ice and Subglacial Rock Cores for Scientific Discovery in a Changing Climate (2024) In: Glaciers - Recent Research, Importance to Humanity and the Effects of Climate Change. IntechOpen. Edited by Emeritus Prof. Stuart Arthur Harris
Englacial and Subglacial Access Working Group
IDP Education and Outreach
Virtual Field Labs
Virtual Field Labs are unique interactive Education and Outreach products designed for students from late middle school to college. Virtual Field Labs are designed for students to watch with a teacher present (virtually or in-person) or independently on their own computers. Each Virtual Field Lab takes students along with a climate scientist as they collect and analyze data to answer a different climate question.
More InformationSchool of Ice
The School of Ice provides professional development workshops for faculty from Minority Serving Institutions, training participants to understand paleoclimate evidence derived from ice cores. It also provides participants with the opportunities and training to acquire the skills necessary to bring this exciting inquiry into new and existing Earth and environmental science classes on their campuses.
More InformationTeaching Resources
The Education and Outreach website hosts free teaching resources on topics of ice core science, ocean circulation, polar science, process of science, teaching tools, and virtual field labs that offer new participatory experiences for online learning. The website provides resources for classrooms or informal science program efforts with data that is useful to decision-makers of all backgrounds.
More Information