Electrothermal Drill

Drilling on Mt. Waddington in British Columbia, Canada, with the Electrothermal Drill during the 2023 field season. Credit: Peter Neff.

The Electromechanical Drill on the Quelccaya Ice Cap, Peru. The Electrothermal Drill was chosen because it works well in locations where the ice is close to its pressure melting point. In such situations, the more common electromechanical drills are at risk of getting stuck from melting and refreezing of the surrounding ice. The Electrothermal Drill uses a ring-shaped heating element in the coring head to melt an annulus around the ice to be cored, rather than shaving it away with cutters like electromechanical drills. Credit: Elliot Moravec.

Collecting firn water from the drill head of the thermal drill during the 2013 field season in SE Greenland. Credit: Rick Forster

View of the 2019 Thermal Drill field test site, located at the flow divide between the Matthes and Llewellyn glaciers. Credit: Anna de Vitry

A 2-meter-long section of ice from Combatant Col, Mt. Waddington, British Columbia, is removed from the Thermal Drill. Credit: Doug Clark

A close-up view of the Thermals Drill's drill head taken during the 2010 Combatant Col, Mt. Waddington, British Columbia, fieldwork. Credit: Eric Steig