Prairie Dog Drill

Description

A modification of the hand auger, the Prairie Dog includes a stationary outer barrel that allows operations in solid ice as well as firn. The depth limit is approximately 40 meters (with a Sidewinder). The system is commonly used in warm ice conditions where the two-barrel design aides in chip transport during coring. The system was used in both Wyoming and Montana in 2013 for ice patch coring and again near the Wyoming/Montana border in 2016 and 2018.

Equipment Details

Name Prairie Dog Drill
Type
Type
Ice coring
Number in Inventory
Number in Inventory
1
Max. Practical Depth
Max. Practical Depth
30 m
Hole Diameter
Hole Diameter
141 mm (5.6 inches)
Ice Core Diameter
Ice Core Diameter
98 mm (3.9 inches)
Ice Core Length
Ice Core Length
1 m
IDP Driller Required?
IDP Driller Required?
Yes, 1 driller
Drill Fluid Required?
Drill Fluid Required?
No
Power Requirements/Source
Power Requirements/Source
Hand-powered; 2 kW generator or solar cells if using the Sidewinder
Estimated Drilling Time
Estimated Drilling Time

5 m - 2 hours
10 m - 3 hours
20 m - 6 hours
30 m - 9 hours

Helicopter Transportable?
Helicopter Transportable?
Yes
Light Aircraft Transportable?
Light Aircraft Transportable?
Yes
Shipping Weight
Shipping Weight

100 lbs

Shipping Volume (Cube)
Shipping Cube

6

Comments
Comments

Shipping weight/cubes does not include the generator, Sidewinder or 4-inch hand auger normally used with this drill.

Documents

Citation Year
U.S. Ice Drilling Program (2019) Prairie Dog Drill Operations and Maintenance Manual. 1-14. 2019
Jay D Kyne, Joseph McConnell (2007) The Prairie Dog: a double-barrel coring drill for 'hand' augering. Annals of Glaciology, 47, 99-100. doi: 10.3189/172756407786857703. https://doi.org/10.3189/172756407786857703 2007

Photos

Project History

2018 Arctic - Montana: Ice Patch Archives - Reconstructing ancient human and ecosystem responses to Holocene climate conditions in the northern Rocky Mountains
2016 Arctic - Wyoming: Biodiversity of the Longue Durée
2013 Arctic - Wyoming: Prairie Dog Drilling Near the Twin Lakes Ice Patches of Northern Wyoming
2013 Arctic - Montana: Exploring Internal Structures of Ice Patches in Glacier National Park
2010 Arctic - Greenland: Shallow Coring at Humboldt and Tunu Sites in Greenland
2010-2011 Antarctic - Geochemistry and Microbiology of the Extreme Aquatic Environment in Lake Vida, East Antarctica

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