Blue Ice Drill

Description

The Blue Ice Drill (BID) is an agile drill capable of retrieving cores of approximately 241 mm (9-1/2 inches) in diameter. The BID system was originally designed with a depth capability of 30 m, but was modified in PY 2014 to allow for attempts at deeper coring to 200 m depth at the request of the science community. A new cable winch and tower were implemented in the design as well as several new down-hole components. Depth capability is still largely influenced by site/ice and firn depth characteristics.

A drill tent has allowed operations to continue in poor weather conditions. A new tower was fabricated in 2019 to bear the loads of the tent and allow for safer tent erection than the original BID tripod. IDP made additional modifications to the drill including painting the outer barrels white to reduce solar gain, redesigning the cable termination, fabrication of scoop cutters and work on the crown sheave.

Current Status

The BID is one of IDP’s most requested drills. Several components are aging beyond their useful life and are being replaced. The drill electronics required substantial onsite and remote troubleshooting during the 2023-2024 Antarctic season. In spring 2024, wiring in the winch control box was cleaned up and the mechanical support of the electronics was made more rigid for ruggedness during transport. A new dynamic braking module was also installed. Updates were also made to the drill control box and functionality of the remote switch was removed, greatly simplifying the internal electronics. Carbide cutter holders and inserts are also being designed and fabricated. 

IDP is discussing with the science community several approaches for drilling good quality ice core in blue ice, and is conducting a feasibility study in PY 2024 to outline approaches with the highest chances of success. This may include designing a new, large-diameter electromechanical drill or the development of a large-diameter thermal drill.

Technical Issues

Site-specific ice properties such as firn depth, temperature, ice structure, contaminants in ice, as well as the large core diameter and/or mechanical aspects of the drill are all potential factors that may impact core quality.

Equipment Details

Name Blue Ice Drill
Type
Type
Ice coring
Number in Inventory
Number in Inventory
1
Max. Practical Depth
Max. Practical Depth
25 m (200 m for BID-Deep version*)
Hole Diameter
Hole Diameter
288 mm (11.3 inches)
Ice Core Diameter
Ice Core Diameter
241 mm (9.5 inches)
Ice Core Length
Ice Core Length
1 m
IDP Driller Required?
IDP Driller Required?
Yes, 1 driller (2 people required for drill operation)
Drill Fluid Required?
Drill Fluid Required?
No
Power Requirements/Source
Power Requirements/Source
120 V, 3.5 kW generator (5 kW generator for BID-Deep)
Estimated Drilling Time
Estimated Drilling Time

10 m - 2 hours
20 m - 4 hours
25 m - 5 hours

50 m - 12 hours
100 m - 25 hours
150 m - 40 hours
200 m - 60 hours

Time to Move (breakdown and setup)
Time to Move (breakdown and setup)
4 hours
Helicopter Transportable?
Helicopter Transportable?
Yes
Light Aircraft Transportable?
Light Aircraft Transportable?
Yes
Shipping Weight
Shipping Weight

4,300 lbs

Shipping Volume (Cube)
Shipping Cube

270

Restrictions
Restrictions

* The depth capability of the BID-Deep is largely influenced by site/ice characteristics. The current equipment is likely reaching its operational limits and assuring acceptable core quality at depths of 200 m would require a re-design of the system.

* IDP is discussing with the science community several approaches for drilling good quality ice core in blue ice, which may include design and fabrication of a modified BID or the development of a large-diameter thermal drill.

Documents

Citation Year
U.S. Ice Drilling Program (2021) Blue Ice Drill Operations and Maintenance Manual. 1-43. 2021
Mary R Albert, Kristina R Slawny, Grant Boeckmann, Chris J Gibson, Jay A Johnson, Keith Makinson, Julius Rix (2020) Recent Innovations in Drilling in Ice. Chapter 6 of Advances in Terrestrial Drilling: Ground, Ice and Underwater, Bar-Cohen and Zacny, eds., 157-220. https://www.routledge.com/Advances-in-Terrestrial-Drilling-Ground-Ice-and-Under… 2020
Tanner W Kuhl, Jay A Johnson, Alexander J Shturmakov, Joshua J Goetz, Chris J Gibson, Donald A Lebar (2014) A new large-diameter ice-core drill: the Blue Ice Drill. Annals of Glaciology, 55, (68), 1-6. doi: 10.3189/2014AoG68A009. https://doi.org/10.3189/2014AoG68A009 2014
Jeffrey P Severinghaus, IDDO (2009) Blue Ice Drill Development: Science Requirements Document. 1-3. 2009

Photos

Project History

2023 Arctic - Collaborative Research: Investigating the Rate of Potential Biological in Situ Gas Production of CO and CH4 in Arctic Ice
2023-2024 Antarctic - Center for OLDest Ice Exploration (COLDEX)
2022-2023 Antarctic - Early and Mid Pleistocene Climate Archives from the Allan Hills Blue Ice Area
2019-2020 Antarctic - Early and Mid Pleistocene Climate Archives from the Allan Hills Blue Ice Area
2018-2019 Antarctic - Reconstructing Carbon-14 of Atmospheric Carbon Monoxide from Law Dome, Antarctica, to Constrain Long-Term Hydroxyl Radical Variability
2015 Arctic - Greenland: Reconstruction of Carbon Monoxide in the Pre-Industrial Arctic Atmosphere
2015 Arctic - Greenland: Investigating Carbon-14 in Polar Firn and Ice
2015-2016 Antarctic - Using 14C in Ice to Understand the Past Methane Budget and Cosmogenic Production Rates
2015-2016 Antarctic - Climate Controls on Aerosol Fluxes to Taylor Dome and Taylor Glacier
2014 Arctic - Greenland: Investigating Carbon-14 in Polar Firn and Ice
2014-2015 Antarctic - Using 14C in Ice to Understand the Past Methane Budget and Cosmogenic Production Rates
2013 Arctic - Greenland: Investigating Carbon-14 in Polar Firn and Ice
2013-2014 Antarctic - Climate Controls on Aerosol Fluxes to Taylor Dome and Taylor Glacier
2013-2014 Antarctic - Using 14C in Ice to Understand the Past Methane Budget and Cosmogenic Production Rates
2011-2012 Antarctic - Taylor Glacier Ice Coring
2010-2011 Antarctic - A "Horizontal Ice Core" for Large-Volume Samples of the Past Atmosphere

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