The Sidewinder is not a drill but is a drive/lifting system used in conjunction with the hand augers. It is driven by an electric motor (power hand drill) and a winching system to help in both lowering and retrieving the drill string. The power hand drill is also used to spin the hand auger barrel during drilling. The Sidewinder extends the maximum practical depth of coring with a hand auger to about 40 meters.
Like the hand augers, the Sidewinders are typically operated by investigators without assistance from IDP equipment operators.
Equipment Details
| Name | Sidewinder Power Drive |
|---|---|
| Type |
Type
Power unit for hand augers
|
| Number in Inventory |
Number in Inventory
5
|
| Max. Practical Depth |
Max. Practical Depth
40 m
|
| Hole Diameter |
Hole Diameter
[NA]
|
| Ice Core Diameter |
Ice Core Diameter
[NA]
|
| Ice Core Length |
Ice Core Length
[NA]
|
| IDP Driller Required? |
IDP Driller Required?
No (while 1 person can operate the Sidewinder, a 2-person crew helps share the labor and speeds up the cycle time)
|
| Power Requirements/Source |
Power Requirements/Source
2 kW generator or solar cells
|
| Estimated Drilling Time |
Estimated Drilling Time
5 m - 2 hours |
| Time to Move (breakdown and setup) |
Time to Move (breakdown and setup)
<1 hour
|
| Helicopter Transportable? |
Helicopter Transportable?
Yes
|
| Light Aircraft Transportable? |
Light Aircraft Transportable?
Yes
|
| Shipping Weight |
Shipping Weight
180 lbs |
| Shipping Volume (Cube) |
Shipping Cube
6 (does not include generator or hand auger) |
| Comments |
Documents
| Citation | Year |
|---|---|
| U.S. Ice Drilling Program (2021) IDP Sidewinder Operations and Maintenance Manual. 1-21. | 2021 |
| Vladimir Aizen, Christine Foreman, Andrei Kurbatov, Erich Osterberg, Eric J Steig (2011) 10 year plan for Shallow Coring Capabilities (1-400 m deep). 2011 Ice Drilling Science Community Planning Workshop, April 15-16, 2011, Herndon, Virginia, USA, 1-5. | 2011 |
| Jay D Kyne, Joseph McConnell (2007) The SideWinder for powering a hand-coring auger in drilling and lifting. Annals of Glaciology, 47, 101-104. doi: 10.3189/172756407786857721. https://doi.org/10.3189/172756407786857721 | 2007 |
Photos
PI Erich Osterberg drills with the IDP Hand Auger and Sidewinder system in Greenland. Credit: Gabe Lewis
Members of the Lake Vida expedition team – Peter Doran, Chris Fritsen and Jay Kyne – use a Sidewinder with the Praire Dog Drill during the 2010-2011 season to drill an ice core from frozen Lake Vida, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Credit: Ema Kuhn
IDP driller Jay Kane drills with the PICO Hand Auger and Sidewinder system during the 2013 field season in SE Greenland. Credit: Rick Forster
Videos
Project History
| 2014 Arctic - Greenland: Closing the Isotope Hydrology at Summit |
| 2013 Arctic - Alaska: McCall Glacier Ice Cores |
| 2013 Arctic - Greenland: Closing the Isotope Hydrology at Summit |
| 2013 Arctic - Greenland: Investigation of the Greenland Perennial Firn Aquifer |
| 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 |
| 2012 Arctic - Alaska: McCall Glacier Ice Cores |
| 2012 Arctic - Greenland: Closing the Isotope Hydrology at Summit |
| 2012-2013 Antarctic - Shallow Ice Cores on Taylor Glacier |
| 2011 Arctic - Greenland: Closing the Isotope Hydrology at Summit |
| 2011 Arctic - Alaska: McCall Glacier Ice Cores |
| 2011 Arctic - Greenland: Understanding the Physical Properties of Northern Greenland Near-Surface Snow |
| 2010 Arctic - Greenland: Shallow Coring at Humboldt and Tunu Sites in Greenland |
| 2010-2011 Antarctic - A "Horizontal Ice Core" for Large-Volume Samples of the Past Atmosphere |
| 2010-2011 Antarctic - Geochemistry and Microbiology of the Extreme Aquatic Environment in Lake Vida, East Antarctica |
Shipping weight includes generator but not hand auger. 130 lb shipping weight w/o generator.