Long Range Planning

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP), in collaboration with its Science Advisory Board and with input from the research community, updated the Long Range Science Plan. This plan aims to articulate goals and make recommendations for the direction of U.S. ice coring and drilling science in a wide variety of areas of scientific inquiry and to make recommendations for the development of drilling technology, infrastructure, and logistical support needed to enable the science. A companion document, the Long Range Drilling Technology Plan, provides details about drills available through IDP. Both plans are revisited and revised as appropriate each spring. The Long Range Science Plan is available at https://icedrill.org/long-range-science-plan. The Long Range Drilling Technology Plan is available at https://icedrill.org/long-range-drilling-technology-plan.

If you envision the need for ice drilling for your project in the coming decade, please make sure that the high-level articulation of your science is captured in the Long Range Science Plan. If it isn’t, send several sentences to IceDrill@Dartmouth.edu describing the science driver and the envisioned field date and location for your project so that your plans are voiced in this planning document.

In August 2024, the U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP) received a National Science Foundation renewal grant for the coming five years (award number 2318480) to continue providing community leadership and to operate and maintain a facility to support ice drilling engineering, field support, and education and outreach. IDP’s mission is to conduct integrated planning for the ice drilling science and technology communities and to provide drilling technology and operational support that will enable the community to advance the frontiers of science. 

If you are preparing an NSF proposal that includes any 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 three weeks prior to the date the Letter of Support is required. Early submissions are strongly encouraged.

Scientists who seek to include IDP education and outreach activities associated with U.S. ice coring or drilling science projects should contact Louise Huffman at Louise.T.Huffman@Dartmouth.edu during their proposal preparation stage.

For additional information on requesting IDP support, visit our website at https://icedrill.org/requesting-field-support or contact us at IceDrill@Dartmouth.edu.

The U.S. Rapid Access Ice Drill (RAID) is ready for Antarctic ice-sheet exploration! RAID completed successful field trials in the 2019-20 austral season. Since then, RAID has completed a series of important tooling upgrades and technical improvements. With new developments in knowledge of subglacial materials and basal ice-sheet environment, new technologies and micro-instrument methodologies, discovery of very old (up to 4 m.y.) ice from blue ice fields, and an engaged new generation of young cryosphere and solid-earth scientists — now is a good time for a 2nd RAID Science Planning Workshop to reunite the community and articulate the future science that the community wants to do with RAID! Expression of interest and application forms are now officially open until July 15, 2024.

Conveners: 
Sarah Shackleton (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) 
John Goodge (Planetary Science Institute) 
Allie Balter-Kennedy (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory) 
Shuai Yan (University of Texas Institute for Geophysics) 
Jeff Severinghaus (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) 

Dates: September 25-27, 2024 (including half-day session for Early Career Researchers!) 
Location: Herndon, Virginia (near Dulles airport) 
Website: https://www.rapidaccessicedrill.org/2nd-raid-science-planning-workshop/ 
Expression of Interest Deadline: July 15, 2024 
Registration Deadline: August 15, 2024 
Costs: No registration fee. Meals will be provided to all participants during the Workshop. Rooms in the Workshop hotel will be available at a discounted rate (participants to pay on their own). Travel support is available for 15 Early Career participants (by application).

Workshop goals: 
(1) rejuvenate & grow scientific user community for RAID; 
(2) enable new generation of early-career scientists in cutting-edge Antarctic research; 
(3) promote inter–disciplinary research synergies, including use of new cryosphere technologies; 
(4) engage the geophysical community for reconnaissance, site selection & data analysis; 
(5) help integrate RAID and COLDEX activities; 
(6) stimulate new cross-disciplinary research & proposal collaborations; 
(7) develop new concepts to support traverse platforms in Antarctica; and 
(8) create a new Long-Range Science Plan for RAID based on community research goals & priorities for future drilling. 

The workshop conveners seek a diverse group of participants for this NSF-funded workshop. Space is limited! Reserve your place and participate in this important workshop that will steer the future of RAID as an interdisciplinary research platform for deep ice-sheet access. An Expression of Interest (EOI) form is available for all participants. The deadline for submitting your EOI form is July 15, 2024. This includes an Application for Travel Support for Early Career Researchers. 

For detailed information, costs, key dates, and a link to the EOI form, visit the workshop’s website: 
https://www.rapidaccessicedrill.org/2nd-raid-science-planning-workshop/

A virtual meeting of the Ice Core Working Group (ICWG) was held on April, 2024, to discuss updates to the Long Range Science Plan (LRSP) and other ICWG business. Discussions included updates from IDP and the NSF Ice Core Facility (NSF-ICF), discussion about the NSF-ICF Use and Ice Core Sample Allocation Policy, NSF-ICF Sample Allocation Committee membership composition, discussion about the Beacon/Mullins Valley cores archived at the NSF-ICF, updates to the LRSP, and ice drilling technology development priorities for the LRSP. 

The members of the ICWG are: 

• Becky Alexander, Chair (University of Washington) 
• T.J. Fudge (University of Washington) 
• Alex Michaud (The Ohio State University) 
• Summer Burton Rupper (University of Utah) 
• Jeff Severinghaus (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) 
• Sarah Shackleton (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) 
• Dom Winski (University of Maine)

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP) convenes a Science Advisory Board (SAB) to form and update the Long Range Science Plan that addresses multiple aspects of ice core and other ice science and associated technology. The annual SAB meeting was held in-person on February 15-16, 2024, in Arlington, VA. The first part of the meeting was an open session and included updates from IDP, the NSF Ice Core Facility, the Ice Core Working Group, and the Englacial and Subglacial Access Working Group (ESAWG). It also included discussions regarding ESAWG planning, and Safe and Inclusive Plan templates. The second part of the meeting was a closed session in which the SAB prioritized the technology investments outlined in the Long Range Science Plan and discussed SAB member rotation and SAB Terms of Reference. 

The members of the SAB are: 

• T.J. Fudge, Chair (University of Washington) 
• Joel Harper (University of Montana) 
• Matthew Siegfried (Colorado School of Mines) 
• Sarah Shackleton (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) 
• Martin Truffer (University of Alaska Fairbanks) 
• Ryan Venturelli (Colorado School of Mines) 
• Trista Vick-Majors (Michigan Technological University)

IDP organized and convened the AGU Town Hall on Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions at the AGU Fall meeting in San Francisco (December 14, 2023). The session attracted a large audience who heard brief presentations from IDP (Mary Albert), International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences (IPICS; Christo Buizert), Ice Core Young Scientists (ICYS; Jennifer Campos Ayala), Hercules Dome (Eric Steig), GreenDrill (Jason Briner), and Rapid Access Ice Drill (RAID; Shuai Yan).

The third annual US Ice Core Open Science Meeting will be held May 15-17, 2024, at the Portland Public Library in beautiful Portland, Maine. The NSF-funded Hercules Dome Ice Core Project is convening the meeting.

This meeting is intended for anyone interested in ice core science or related fields, including ice-core analysis, ice or subglacial drilling, glacier geophysics that supports or depends on ice core records, paleoclimate, and contemporary climate and ice sheet change.

The goals of the meeting include:

1. Sharing the latest science.
2. Discussing future ice core and related science projects in both polar regions and alpine environments.
3. Providing career development opportunities.
4. Improving communication about ice-core and related science within and beyond the scientific community.

We hope to attract a diverse group of participants, including those who may not have extensive experience working with ice cores.

While this meeting is primarily oriented toward researchers in the US, international colleagues are welcome to attend.

The meeting will begin midday on Wednesday, May 15, and end in the late afternoon on Friday, May 17. The meeting will be preceded by an Ice Core Early Career Researchers Workshop (ICECReW) for early career researchers focused on applying for academic and alt/ac jobs.

Details on hotel rooms, travel support, and other aspects of the meeting will be publicized in February.

Please join the Hercules Dome mailing list to ensure you receive all the meeting announcements.

Dates: May 15-17, 2024
Location: Portland Public Library, Portland, Maine
Convener: NSF Hercules Dome Ice Core Project
Organizing Committee: Seth Campbell, T.J. Fudge, Kaitlin Keegan, Bess Koffman, Peter Neff
Meeting website: https://herculesdome.org/us-ice-core-open-science-meeting-2024

With access to the polar ice sheets beginning to open following the pandemic years, the Science Advisory Board of the U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP) has recommended that the Subglacial Access Working Group (SAWG) and Borehole Logging Working Group (BLWG) cease as separate groups. Instead, a single new working group, the IDP Englacial and Subglacial Access Working Group (ESAWG), is being formed. The ESAWG will provide an opportunity to develop and articulate new visions for U.S.-led englacial and subglacial science for the coming decade in the IDP Long Range Science Plan.

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP) will hold the AGU Town Hall on Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions on Thursday, 14 December 2023, from 13:00-14:00 Pacific Standard Time (PST) in room 2004 – West (Level 2, West, MC) of the Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA. We hope to see you there!

Abstract: Ice sheets, glaciers, and the underlying bedrock, sediment and permafrost hold crucial evidence of past climate, ice sheet dynamics, and cratonic geology. National and international collaboration for drilling in the remote Polar Regions requires strategic coordination between science, technology, and logistics. This meeting will provide the scientific research community with brief updates from IDP, Ice Core Young Scientists (ICYS), International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences (IPICS), GreenDrill, Hercules Dome, and Rapid Access Ice Drill (RAID). Opportunities for community involvement will be showcased, and input from the audience will be solicited.

Date: Thursday, 14 December 2023
Time: 13:00 - 14:00 PST
Location: 2004 - West (Level 2, West, MC), Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA
Moderator: Mary R Albert, Dartmouth College
AGU Link: https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm23/meetingapp.cgi/Session/189573

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP), in collaboration with its Science Advisory Board and with input from the research community, updated the Long Range Science Plan. The purpose of this plan is to articulate goals and make recommendations for the direction of U.S. ice coring and drilling science in a wide variety of areas of scientific inquiry and to make recommendations for the development of drilling technology, infrastructure, and logistical support needed to enable the science. A companion document, the Long Range Drilling Technology Plan, provides details about drills available through IDP. Both plans are revisited and revised as appropriate each spring. The Long Range Science Plan is available at https://icedrill.org/long-range-science-plan. The Long Range Drilling Technology Plan is available at https://icedrill.org/long-range-drilling-technology-plan.

If you envision the need for ice drilling for your project in the coming decade, please make sure that the high-level articulation of your science is captured in the Long Range Science Plan. If it isn’t, send several sentences to IceDrill@Dartmouth.edu describing the science driver and the envisioned field date and location for your project so that your plans are voiced in this planning document.

An in-person meeting of the Ice Core Working Group (ICWG) was held on May 11, 2023, at the University of Washington, following the 2nd U.S. Ice Core Open Science Meeting. Several people also attended the meeting via Zoom. Discussions included updates from IDP and the NSF Ice Core Facility, discussion about coordination with other Science Advisory Board (SAB) working groups and the SAB itself, updates to the Long Range Science Plan (LRSP), and ice drilling technology development for the LRSP. The agenda and presentations from the meeting are available on the IDP website.

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP) convenes a Science Advisory Board (SAB) to form and update the Long Range Science Plan that addresses multiple aspects of ice core and other ice science and associated technology. The annual SAB meeting was held May 1 via Zoom. The first part of the meeting was an open session and included updates from IDP, the Subglacial Access Working Group, and the Ice Core Working Group. It also included an update on borehole logging activities and thoughts on the future of the Borehole Logging Working Group, and a discussion of out-year planning for the SAB working groups. The second part of the meeting was a closed session in which the SAB prioritized the technology investments outlined in the Long Range Science Plan and discussed SAB member rotation and SAB Terms of Reference.

The agenda and presentations from the meeting are available on the IDP website. The members of the SAB are:

• T.J. Fudge, Chair (University of Washington)
• Joel Harper (University of Montana)
• Bess Koffman (Colby College)
• Matthew Siegfried (Colorado School of Mines)
• Martin Truffer (University of Alaska Fairbanks)
• Ryan Venturelli (Colorado School of Mines)
• Trista Vick-Majors (Michigan Technological University)

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP), in collaboration with its Science Advisory Board and with input from the research community, updated the Long Range Science Plan. The purpose of this plan is to articulate goals and make recommendations for the direction of U.S. ice coring and drilling science in a wide variety of areas of scientific inquiry and to make recommendations for the development of drilling technology, infrastructure, and logistical support needed to enable the science. A companion document, the Long Range Drilling Technology Plan, provides details about drills available through IDP. Both plans are revisited and revised as appropriate each spring. The Long Range Science Plan is available at https://icedrill.org/long-range-science-plan. The Long Range Drilling Technology Plan is available at https://icedrill.org/long-range-drilling-technology-plan.

If you envision the need for ice drilling for your project in the coming decade, please make sure that the high-level articulation of your science is captured in the Long Range Science Plan. If it isn’t, send several sentences to IceDrill@Dartmouth.edu describing the science driver and the envisioned field date and location for your project so that your plans are voiced in this planning document.

You are invited to participate in a brief survey about the U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP). The purpose of this survey is to help IDP learn about who we are reaching in the community and to solicit feedback on IDP’s planning, field support, education and outreach, and communication and website activities.

The anonymous survey will take about 10 minutes to complete and your participation in the survey will help IDP better serve the community.

We know your time is valuable and that this is a busy time – we are leaving the survey open through October to get as many responses as possible.

Please visit https://forms.gle/hpXopxZnrakfCehi9 to complete the survey. Thank you!

The annual IDP Science Advisory Board (SAB) meeting was held on March 3-4 via Zoom. The meeting included updates from NSF and IDP and the following SAB working groups: Ice Core Working Group and Subglacial Access Working Group. SAB members also discussed draft updates for the IDP Long Range Science Plan and prioritization of drilling technology developments. The presentations made during the meeting are available on the IDP website.

A virtual meeting of the Ice Core Working Group (ICWG) was held on February 17 to discuss updates to the Long Range Science Plan and other ICWG business. The presentations made during the February meeting are available on the IDP website. Following the U.S. Ice Core Open Science Meeting, a short hybrid (in-person and online) meeting of the ICWG was also held on May 26 in La Jolla, CA.

The first annual US Ice Core Open Science Meeting will be held May 24-26, 2022, at the beautiful Scripps Seaside Forum at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. It will also be possible to attend online.

This meeting is intended for anyone interested in ice core science or related fields, including ice-core analysis, ice or subglacial drilling, glacier geophysics that supports or depends on ice core records, paleoclimate, and contemporary climate and ice sheet change. Goals of the meeting include 1) sharing of the latest science, 2) discussion of future ice core science projects in both the polar regions and in alpine environments, 3) providing career development opportunities, and 4) improving communication about ice-core and related science both within and beyond the scientific community. We hope to attract a diverse group of participants, including those who may not have extensive experience working with ice cores. While this meeting is primarily oriented toward researchers in the US, international attendees are welcome.

The meeting will begin the morning of Tuesday, May 24, and end by early afternoon Thursday, May 26, followed by the annual meeting of the US Ice Core Working Group.

Join the Hercules Dome mailing list to ensure you do not miss announcements: https://herculesdome.org/get-involved.

Deadlines:

• March 21: Please register by this date to be considered for early career financial support
• April 15: Registration deadline
• April 29: Deadline to book a hotel at the group rate

Registration:

For those attending in person, there is a $100 registration fee. There is limited financial support for early career attendees; if you wish to be considered for this support, please register by March 21. The registration deadline is April 15. The late registration fee is $200.

To register, complete the registration form at https://catalyst.uw.edu/webq/survey/steig/419153.

To pay for the registration fee, please first complete and submit the registration form, and then go to the payment portal at the University of California-Irvine.

Venue and Lodging:

The meeting will be held at the Scripps Seaside Forum at the Scripps Instituion of Oceanography, May 24-26, 2022. We have reserved a block of rooms at La Jolla Shores Hotel and the adjacent La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club, both within walking distance of the meeting. Individual attendees should make their own reservations directly with the Hotel Reservations Department at 866 976-6659. Please refer to the Antarctic Ice Core Meeting when making reservations. Rooms range from $219 Beach & Tennis Club to $239 or $289 per night at La Jolla Shores. All rooms are double occupany (that is, the per person cost is $110 to $145 per night if you share a room). Please book by April 29 to ensure you get the contract rate.

Organizing Committee:

This meeting is jointly organized by representatives and leaders of the Hercules Dome Ice Core Project, the Center for Oldest Ice Exploration, the US Ice Drilling Program, and the Juneau Icefield Research Program. The organizing committee is Eric Steig, Sarah Aarons, Seth Campbell, TJ Fudge, and Heidi Roop.

Meeting Website:

For additional information, visit the meeting website at: https://herculesdome.org/us-ice-core-open-science-meeting

The IDP Science Advisory Board identified in the IDP Long Range Science Plan 2015-2025 and later, a priority need to envision and develop a drilling operation that is less logistically intensive than the existing Foro 1650 Drill (formerly referred to as the Intermediate Depth Drill or IDD), to be used to retrieve ice cores from 700 m depth at alpine or polar ice coring sites with limited logistics and with two months or less time on site. In continuing discussions, it became evident that a smaller diameter core than the Foro drills produce (e.g., 98 mm) would result in significant logistical savings.

From discussions organized by IDP with iterative discussions between scientists, and IDP staff, the 700 Drill Science Requirements were finalized, a Conceptual Design was created, a Conceptual Design Review was completed, a Detailed Design was developed, and a Detailed Design Review was completed. The proposed 700 Drill system design is guided by and meets the science requirements identified by the research community. The system will be optimized to have minimal logistical requirements for drilling projects up to 700 meters in depth. The 700 Drill will produce a 70 mm diameter core (potentially adapting to 64 mm in the future) and 88 mm diameter borehole, which will minimize the quantity (i.e., volume and weight) of drilling fluid and the number and weight of core boxes. With NSF approval, IDP is now moving forward with the construction of the drill, currently slated for completion in February 2024.

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP) will hold the AGU Town Hall on Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions on Tuesday, 7 December 2021, from 18:15-19:15 Central Time. This is an online only event. We hope to see you there!

Abstract: Ice sheets, glaciers, and the underlying bedrock, sediment, and permafrost hold crucial evidence of past climate, ice sheet dynamics, and cratonic geology. National and international collaboration for drilling in the remote Polar Regions requires strategic coordination between science, technology, and logistics. This meeting will provide the research community with brief updates from the US Ice Drilling Program, Ice Core Young Scientists (ICYS), International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences (IPICS), GreenDrill, and Hercules Dome. In addition, opportunities for community involvement will be showcased, and input from the audience will be solicited.

Date: Tuesday, 7 December 2021. Online Only.
Time: 18:15-19:15 Central Time
AGU meeting website: https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm21/meetingapp.cgi/Session/121992

The Foro 3000 Drill is the deep ice coring drill that will be used for ice coring at Hercules Dome, Antarctica. The IDP Science Advisory Board has identified the development of replicate coring capability for the Foro 3000 drill as a high priority in the IDP Long Range Science Plan 2020-2030; the first step in the process is the establishment of the IDP Science Requirements for Replicate Coring. When the Foro 3000 drill development was under consideration, a comparison of DISC versus Foro 3000 capability and logistics (Johnson and Kippenhan, 2017) indicated that a passive design for replicate coring would be advisable. A preliminary analysis (Zeug, 2017) found that a reliable approach using a whipstock in the parent borehole is feasible for retrieving replicate cores at specified depths from the parent borehole. There may be other approaches as well, but they must also fit within the overall goal of avoiding the electronic and mechanical complexity that would accompany a steerable drilling system, which is a more costly endeavor than is feasible now. From discussions organized by IDP with iterative discussions between representatives of the ice core science and borehole logging science communities and IDP staff, science requirements for Replicate Coring Capability for the Foro 3000 Drill have been established.

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program is planning use of its drills for the coming decade. If you intend to submit a proposal to the NSF that would require use of the DISC Drill, please send an email expressing your intent to Icedrill@Dartmouth.edu by October 1.

Deep drilling at Hercules Dome will be conducted using the Foro 3000 Drill. A comparison of Foro 3000 Drill and DISC Drill capabilities and associated logistics requirements is available online and summarized in the table below.

Thank you for contributing to future planning for the U.S. Ice Drilling Program!

On June 11, 2021, the U.S. Ice Drilling Program and the Summit Science Coordination Office co-sponsored a U.S. science community planning workshop to identify and articulate U.S. science community interests for long-term planning of potential scientific traverses on the Greenland Ice Sheet. The interdisciplinary science community workshop identified future sites and traverse routes on the Greenland Ice Sheet where ground-based measurements and/or ice coring will be needed and the associated timeline over the coming decade for advancing science on multiple frontiers. The presentations from the workshop are available on the workshop’s website. in addition, workshop participants are currently working on a set of white papers that will also be available on the workshop’s website.

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP), in collaboration with its Science Advisory Board and with input from the research community, updated the Long Range Science Plan. The purpose of this plan is to articulate goals and make recommendations for the direction for U.S. ice coring and drilling science in a wide variety of areas of scientific inquiry and to make recommendations for the development of drilling technology, infrastructure, and logistical support needed to enable the science. A companion document, the Long Range Drilling Technology Plan, provides details about drills available through IDP. Both plans are revisited and revised as appropriate each spring. The Long Range Science Plan is available at https://icedrill.org/long-range-science-plan. The Long Range Drilling Technology Plan is available at https://icedrill.org/long-range-drilling-technology-plan.

If you envision the need for ice drilling for your project in the coming decade, please make sure that the high-level articulation of your science is captured in the Long Range Science Plan. If it isn’t, send several sentences to IceDrill@Dartmouth.edu describing the science driver and the envisioned field date and location for your project, so that your plans are voiced in this planning document.

June 11, 2021 via Zoom

Sponsors: U.S. Ice Drilling Program & Summit Science Coordination Office
Conveners: Joerg Schaefer, Mary Albert, Jason Briner, Zoe Courville
Website: https://icedrill.org/meetings/us-scientific-traverses-gris-planning-workshop

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program and the Summit Science Coordination Office are co-sponsoring a U.S. science community planning workshop to identify and articulate U.S. science community interests for long-term planning of potential scientific traverses on the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Purpose: The workshop is designed to identify the driving scientific questions that require access to interior areas of the Greenland Ice Sheet and would benefit from traverse approaches for the coming decade and beyond. What are the primary science questions that the U.S. scientific community would seek to answer? The outcome from the workshop is a set of white papers that will help identify technological and logistical requirements that will be needed to support the science.

Description: Scientific discoveries achieved on the Greenland Ice are critical to society today, but they are not achieved without significant advance planning. This interdisciplinary science community workshop will identify future sites and traverse routes on the Greenland Ice Sheet where ground-based measurements and/or ice coring will be needed and the associated timeline over the coming decade for advancing science on multiple frontiers. The outcome of the workshop will be a set of white papers describing compelling scientific issues and associated measurements, timelines, and geographic locations on the Greenland Ice Sheet. The white papers will be made available to all on both the Icedrill.org and Geosummit.org websites.

Additional workshop information and the draft agenda are available at https://icedrill.org/meetings/us-scientific-traverses-gris-planning-workshop. To participate in the workshop, please register by following the instructions on our website, where you will be able to provide a title for your 5-minute “pitch” for the science that you envision for the future. After we receive your registration, we will send you additional details of the workshop as it develops. The deadline for registration is June 6, 2021.

Each year in the spring, the Ice Drilling Program (IDP) works with its Science Advisory Board (SAB) and the research community to update the Long Range Science Plan. This Plan identifies the science in the coming decade that will require the use of ice drilling technology and expertise for the community. This also drives the formation of other plans, for example, the Long Range Drilling Technology Plan. The plans provide the basis for multi‐annual planning for the actions and drill development projects of IDP and others, and the plans give the funding agencies advance notice of upcoming community science needs.

If you need an ice core or a hole drilled in a glacier or ice sheet in the coming decade or a rock core from under shallow glacial ice, please make sure that the high‐level articulation of your science is captured in the current draft update of the Long Range Science Plan!

Please read through the draft Long Range Science Plan and send corrections, updates, or additions to IceDrill@Dartmouth.edu ASAP or not later than June 12, 2021. When sending corrections/updates, please also reference the appropriate line number in the draft Long Range Science Plan where the correction/update is needed.

Submission deadline: June 12, 2021

To download the working draft, visit: https://icedrill.org/long-range-science-plan

The annual Ice Core Working Group (ICWG) meeting was held virtually on March 8 via Zoom. Discussions included updates from NSF and IDP, project updates from Canada, Greenland, and Antarctica, the current status and future plans for the NSF-Ice Core Facility, data archiving, updates to the Long Range Science Plan (LRSP), and ice drilling technology development for the LRSP. The presentations made during the meeting are available on the IDP website at https://icedrill.org/library/presentations-2021-ice-core-working-group-meeting.

The annual IDP Science Advisory Board (SAB) meeting was held March 18-19 via Zoom. The meeting included updates from NSF and IDP, as well as from the three SAB working groups: Ice Core Working Group, Subglacial Access Working Group, and Borehole Logging Working Group. SAB members also discussed draft updates for the IDP Long Range Science Plan and prioritization of drilling technology developments. The presentations made during the meeting are available on the IDP website at https://icedrill.org/library/presentations-2021-science-advisory-board-meeting.

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP) convenes a Science Advisory Board (SAB) to form and update the Long Range Science Plan that addresses multiple aspects of ice core and other ice science and associated technology. The members of the SAB are Jill Mikucki (SAB Chair; University of Tennessee), T.J. Fudge (University of Washington), Brent Goehring (Tulane University), Bess Koffman (Colby College), Erin Pettit (Oregon State University), Martin Truffer (University of Alaska Fairbanks), Trista Vick-Majors (Michigan Technological University), and Paul Winberry (Central Washington University). The next SAB meeting will be held in a virtual format on March 18-19, 2021. If you envision the need for ice drilling for your project in the coming decade, send several sentences describing the science driver and the anticipated field date and location for your project so that your plans are voiced in this planning document. Please email your input as soon as possible to any SAB members or the IDP via IceDrill@Dartmouth.edu. The 2020-2030 Long Range Science Plan is available at https://icedrill.org/long-range-science-plan.

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP) will hold the AGU Town Hall on Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions on Wednesday, 16 December 2020, from 16:00-17:00 PACIFIC (19:00-20:00 EASTERN). We hope to see you there!

Abstract: Ice sheets, glaciers, and the underlying bedrock, sediment and permafrost hold crucial evidence of past climate, ice sheet dynamics, and cratonic geology. National and international collaboration for drilling in the remote polar regions requires strategic coordination between science, technology, and logistics. This meeting will provide the research community with updates on IDP, IPICS, and other drilling initiatives. Opportunities for community involvement will be showcased, and input from the audience will be solicited.

Date: Wednesday, 16 December 2020
Time: 16:00-17:00 PACIFIC (19:00-20:00 EASTERN)
AGU meeting website: https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm20/meetingapp.cgi/Session/102717

IDP held the Ice Core Working Group Community Planning Workshop on April 2-3, 2020. Originally planned to be held in Alexandria, VA, and originally advertised as the Ice Core Science Community Planning Workshop 2020, the workshop was held virtually via Zoom in response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Participants articulated future science targets in Greenland, Antarctica, and alpine glaciers and ice caps (outside Antarctica and Greenland), and discussed recommendations for the NSF Ice Core Facility. The workshop produced the following white papers:

• Community Recommendations for the NSF Ice Core Facility
• Paleoclimate Ice Core Research Priorities in Antarctica
• Alpine Glaciers and Ice Caps
• Ice Core Research Priorities in Greenland

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP), in collaboration with its Science Advisory Board and with input from the research community, updated the Long Range Science Plan. The purpose of this plan is to articulate goals and make recommendations for the direction for U.S. ice coring and drilling science in a wide variety of areas of scientific inquiry and to make recommendations for the development of drilling technology, infrastructure, and logistical support needed to enable the science. A companion document, the Long Range Drilling Technology Plan, provides details about drills available through IDP. Both plans are revisited and revised as appropriate each spring. The Long Range Science Plan is available at https://icedrill.org/long-range-science-plan. The Long Range Drilling Technology Plan is available at https://icedrill.org/long-range-drilling-technology-plan.

If you envision the need for ice drilling for your project in the coming decade, please make sure that the high-level articulation of your science is captured in the Long Range Science Plan. If it isn’t, send several sentences to IceDrill@Dartmouth.edu describing the science driver and the envisioned field date and location for your project, so that your plans are voiced in this planning document.

Each year in the spring, the Ice Drilling Program (IDP) works with its Science Advisory Board and with the research community to update the Long Range Science Plan. This Plan identifies the science in the coming decade that will require the use of ice drilling technology and expertise for the community. This also drives the formation of other plans, for example, the Long Range Drilling Technology Plan. The plans provide the basis for multi-annual planning for the actions and drill development projects of IDP and others, and the plans give the funding agencies advance notice of upcoming community science needs.

If you will need an ice core or a hole drilled in a glacier or ice sheet in the coming decade, or a rock core from under shallow glacial ice, please make sure that the high-level articulation of your science is captured in the current draft update of the Long Range Science Plan!

Please read through the draft Long Range Science Plan and send corrections, updates, or additions to Icedrill@Dartmouth.edu ASAP or not later than June 3, 2020.

To download the working draft, visit: https://icedrill.org/long-range-science-plan

Submission deadline: June 3, 2020

IDP held the Ice Core Working Group Community Planning Workshop on April 2-3. Originally planned to be held in Alexandria, VA, and originally advertised as the Ice Core Science Community Planning Workshop 2020, the workshop was held virtually via Zoom in response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Participants articulated future science targets in Greenland, Antarctica, and alpine glaciers and ice caps (outside Antarctica and Greenland), and also discussed recommendations for the NSF Ice Core Facility. Presentations made during the meeting are available on the IDP website. The workshop produced the following white papers. U.S. scientists are invited to provide additional input to the white papers. Comments and edits are required before June 4, 2020.

• Research Priorities for Alpine Glaciers and Ice Caps
• Community Recommendations for the NSF Ice Core Facility
• Paleoclimate Ice Core Research Priorities in Antarctica
• Ice Core Research Priorities in Greenland

For more information about the ICWG, visit the ICWG webpage.

IDP will be working with the Science Advisory Board and community members in the coming month to update the Long Range Science Plan. If you envision the need for ice drilling for your project in the coming decade, send several sentences describing the science driver and the envisioned field date and location for your project, so that your plans are voiced in this planning document. Please email your input to IceDrill@Dartmouth.edu soon! The 2019-2029 Long Range Science Plan is available at https://icedrill.org/long-range-science-plan.

What: U.S. Ice Drilling Program Ice Core Science Community Planning Workshop
When: April 2-3, 2020
Where: Alexandria, Virginia, USA
Website: https://icedrill.org/meetings/ice-core-science-community-planning-workshop-2020
Registration Deadline: March 13, 2020
Sponsor: Mary Albert, Dartmouth, IDP Executive Director
IDP Ice Core Working Group Conveners: Erich Osterberg, Dartmouth; T.J. Fudge, University of Washington

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program Ice Core Working Group (IDP-ICWG) will hold a U.S. community planning workshop on April 2-3, 2020, at the Residence Inn Alexandria Old Town South at Carlyle in Alexandria, Virginia. The meeting will be all day on Thursday, April 2, and Friday morning, April 3.

Purpose: The purpose of this workshop is to articulate driving scientific questions in ice core research for the coming decade and beyond and identify drilling sites and technological and logistical requirements needed to answer those questions, for contribution to the U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP) Long Range Science Plan.

Description: Scientific discoveries achieved in the Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets and temperate glaciers are critical to society today, but they are not achieved without significant advance planning. The U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP) is sponsoring an interdisciplinary ice community workshop to identify science driving future Arctic and Antarctic ice coring sites, the ice drilling technology that will be needed, and the timeline over the coming decade for advancing ice core science on multiple frontiers. The outcome of the workshop will be white papers describing community endeavors with associated timelines that will become part of the updated U.S. Ice Drilling Program Long Range Science Plan.

Video-conferencing will be available for remote participation.

There is no registration fee for the workshop, but everyone planning to attend (even those attending remotely) MUST register so that we will have an accurate headcount for meeting room space and catering. The registration deadline is March 13. After we receive your registration, we will send you additional details of the meeting as it develops. If you plan to attend via video-conferencing, please indicate that on your registration so that we can be in contact.

Further details regarding the upcoming workshop in Alexandria, VA, including registration instructions, agenda, and future updates, can be found at https://icedrill.org/meetings/ice-core-science-community-planning-workshop-2020.

Information on the location and agenda will be forthcoming — stay tuned!!

The Ice Drilling Program (IDP) is trying something different this year at AGU. Rather than holding a Town Hall meeting like we have done in the past, this year we will have a booth at the 2019 AGU Fall Meeting! We are hoping that the booth will allow more face time and interaction with everyone, especially early-career scientists. So please stop by our booth and learn about how to obtain drilling support from IDP, the various outreach support that we can provide, and much more! We’ll be at booth 312 during the week.

You can also catch Louise Huffman, IDP’s Director of Education and Public Outreach, at the following AGU activities:

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program in collaboration with its Science Advisory Board and with input from the research community updated the Long Range Science Plan. The purpose of this plan is to articulate goals and make recommendations for the direction for U.S. ice coring and drilling science in a wide variety of areas of scientific inquiry and to make recommendations for the development of drilling technology, infrastructure, and logistical support needed to enable the science. A companion document, the Long Range Drilling Technology Plan, provides details about drills available through IDP. Both plans are revisited and revised as appropriate each spring. The Long Range Science Plan is available at https://icedrill.org/long-range-science-plan.

If you envision the need for ice drilling for your project in the coming decade, please make sure that the high-level articulation of your science is captured in the Long Range Science Plan. If it isn’t, send several sentences to IceDrill@Dartmouth.edu describing the science driver and the envisioned field date and location for your project, so that your plans are voiced in this planning document.

On March 29-30, 2019 the Ice Drilling Program Subglacial Access Working Group Science Planning Workshop was held at the Washington Dulles Marriott Suites Worldgate hotel in Herndon, Virginia. The goal of the interdisciplinary ice community workshop was to identify future Arctic and Antarctic drilling sites for subglacial science, the ice drilling technology that is needed, and the timeline over the coming decade for advancing subglacial science on multiple frontiers.

IDP Subglacial Access Working Group conveners Slawek Tulaczyk and Jill Mikucki worked with workshop participants in generation of the following white papers:

• Assessment of East Antarctic Ice Sheet sensitivity to warming and its potential for contributions to sea level rise
• Access Drilling Priorities in the Ross Ice Shelf Region
• Subglacial Access Working Group (SAWG): Access Drilling Priorities in Greenland

The targeted future drilling sites and dates will be included in the planning matrices of the updated IDP Long Range Science Plan 2019 - 2029, which will be completed in June. The white papers are available on the IDP webpage at https://icedrill.org/about/meetings.shtml.

IDP organized and led the AGU Town Hall on Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions in Washington, DC (December 11, 2018). The session attracted an audience of approximately 100, and included brief presentations on a number of areas, including NSF Remarks, International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences (IPICS), Ice Drilling Program (IDP), Subglacial Antarctic Lakes Scientific Access (SALSA), Rapid Access Ice Drill (RAID), and announcements from the audience.

IDP will be working with the Science Advisory Board and community members in the coming month to update the Long Range Science Plan. If you envision the need for ice drilling for your project in the coming decade, send several sentences describing the science driver and the envisioned field date and location for your project, so that your plans are voiced in this planning document. Please email your input to IceDrill at Dartmouth dot edu soon! The 2018-2028 Long Range Science Plan is available at https://icedrill.org/about/resources.shtml#scienceplan

What: U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP) Subglacial Access Science Planning Workshop
When: March 29-30, 2019
Where: Herndon, Virginia
Website: https://icedrill.org/meetings/subglacial-access-science-planning-workshop-2019

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP) Subglacial Access Science Planning Workshop will take place in Herndon, Virginia, on March 29-30, 2019. The primary objective of this workshop is to provide focused feedback from the subglacial research community into the IDP Long Range Science Plan. Specifically, we seek to stimulate discussions that will yield a prioritized list of science objectives and associated targets and requirements (sampling, drilling and support needs) for the coming decade for the 2019 update to the IDP Long Range Science Plan. We will provide options for remote participation for the plenary aspects of the workshop, and also we welcome short presentations and/or written feedback from non-attendees.

We plan to have a draft white paper at the end of the workshop, and we will solicit feedback on the draft after the workshop, but before it is finalized, for inclusion in the IDP Long Range Science Plan. White papers that were written after the prior, 2016, subglacial access workshop can be downloaded here: https://icedrill.org/meetings/subglacial-access-drilling-idpo-science-planning-workshop

There is no registration fee for the workshop, but everyone planning to attend should register so that we will have an accurate headcount for meeting room space and catering. Further details regarding the upcoming workshop in Herndon, including registration instructions, agenda, and future updates, can be found at https://icedrill.org/meetings/subglacial-access-science-planning-workshop-2019.

Save the date! The U.S. Ice Drilling Program Subglacial Access Working Group (IDP-SAWG) will hold a community planning workshop on March 29-30, 2019 at the Washington Dulles Marriott Suites Worldgate hotel in Herndon, Virginia. The meeting will be all day on Friday March 29, and Saturday morning March 30. Another announcement will come out in mid-December with additional details.

Please pre-register for the meeting by following the instructions on the workshop website, https://icedrill.org/meetings/subglacial-access-science-planning-workshop-2019. After we receive your pre-registration, we will send you additional details of meeting logistics and agenda.

Description: Scientific discoveries achieved from evidence within, and beneath the Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets and temperate glaciers are critical to society today, but they are not achieved without significant advance planning. The U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP) will sponsor an interdisciplinary ice community workshop to identify future Arctic and Antarctic drilling sites for subglacial science, the ice drilling technology that is needed, and the timeline over the coming decade for advancing subglacial science on multiple frontiers. The outcome of the workshop will be white papers describing community endeavors with associated timelines that will become part of the updated IDP Long Range Science Plan.

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP) will hold the AGU Town Hall on Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions on Tuesday, December 11, at the Marriott Marquis room Independence E from 12:30-13:30. The meeting is convened by Mary Albert with co-convenor John Goodge. In addition, at this Town Hall a representative of the International Glaciological Society will present the IGS Richardson Medal to Dr. Julie Palais.

Abstract: Ice sheets, glaciers, and the underlying bedrock, sediment and permafrost hold crucial evidence of past climate, ice sheet dynamics, and cratonic geology. National and international collaboration for drilling in the remote polar regions requires strategic coordination between science, technology, and logistics. This meeting will provide the research community with updates on IDP, IPICS, RAID, and SALSA drilling initiatives. Opportunities for community involvement will be showcased, and input from the audience will be solicited.

Date: Tuesday, 11 December 2018
Time: 12:30 - 13:30
Location: Marriott Marquis - Independence E
AGU meeting website: https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm18/meetingapp.cgi/Session/56028
For additional information: please contact Mary Albert

The IDPO Science Advisory Board (IDPO-SAB), the IDPO-SAB working groups (Ice Core Working Group, Subglacial Access Working Group, and the Borehole Logging Working Group), and other community scientists, under Mary Albert's leadership, updated the IDPO Long Range Science Plan. The purpose of the Long Range Science Plan is to articulate goals and make recommendations for the direction for U.S. ice coring and drilling science, and for the development of drilling technology, infrastructure and logistical support needed to enable the science. The companion Long Range Drilling Technology Plan, updated by IDDO, identifies the drills and technologies needed to successfully implement the science in the Long Range Science Plan. Both plans are revisited and revised as appropriate each spring and are available at https://icedrill.org/scientists/scientists.shtml#scienceplan.

If you will need an ice core or a hole drilled in a glacier or ice sheet in the coming decade, or a rock core from under shallow glacial ice, please make sure that the high-level articulation of your science is captured in the IDPO Long Range Science Plan. If it isn't, send corrections, updates, or additions to IceDrill@Dartmouth.edu.

IDPO will be working with the Science Advisory Board and community members in the coming month to update the Long Range Science Plan. If you envision the need for ice drilling for your project in the coming decade, send several sentences descibing the science driver and the envisioned field date and location for your project, so that your plans are voiced in this planning document. Please email your input to IceDrill at Dartmouth dot edu soon! The 2017-2027 Long Range Science Plan is available at https://icedrill.org/about/resources.shtml#scienceplan

IDPO organized and led the AGU Town Hall on Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions in New Orleans (December 12, 2017). The session attracted an audience of approximately 30, and included brief presentations on a number of areas, including NSF Remarks, International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences (IPICS), Ice Drilling Program Office - Ice Drilling Design and Operations (IDPO-IDDO), Subglacial Antarctic Lakes Scientific Access (SALSA), Rapid Access Ice Drill (RAID), and announcements from the audience.

The IDPO Ice Core Working Group (ICWG) meeting was held in Alexandria, VA on January 22, 2018. Scientific findings from recent drilling activities were presented, and future possible investigations in Greenland and Antarctica were identified and discussed. The ICWG reaffirmed Hercules Dome as the priority deep drilling site for the community, due to its key location in archiving evidence of past dramatic changes in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Science-technology tradeoffs were discussed regarding use of the Foro 3000 Drill versus the DISC Drill at Hercules Dome; the DISC Drill delivers a larger volume of ice, however the Foro 3000 Drill has much lower logistical requirements. The ICWG came to agreement that the Foro 3000 Drill will be the drill of choice for this important site.

The Ice Drilling Program Office (IDPO) is once again organizing a Town Hall meeting at the Fall AGU Meeting entitled 'TH23H: Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions'. Ice sheets, glaciers, and the underlying bedrock, sediment and permafrost hold crucial evidence of past climate, ice sheet extent, and cratonic geology. National and international collaboration for drilling in the remote polar regions requires strategic coordination between science, technology, and logistics. This meeting will provide the research community with updates on IDPO-IDDO, IPICS, IPA, RAID, and SALSA drilling initiatives. Opportunities for community involvement will be showcased, and input from the audience will be solicited.

Date: Tuesday, 12 December 2017
Time: 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Place: New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center - 208-209

AGU meeting website for more information:
https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm17/meetingapp.cgi/Session/30134

For further information, please contact Mary Albert (Mary.R.Albert at dartmouth dot edu)

The IDPO Science Advisory Board, IDPO, IDDO, and the science community, under Mary Albert's leadership, updated the IDPO Long Range Science Plan. The purpose of the Long Range Science Plan is to articulate goals and make recommendations for the direction for U.S. ice coring and drilling science, and for the development of drilling technology, infrastructure and logistical support needed to enable the science. The companion Long Range Drilling Technology Plan, updated by IDDO, identifies the drills and technologies needed to successfully implement the science in the Long Range Science Plan. Both plans are revisited and revised as appropriate each spring, and are available at http://icedrill.org/scientists/scientists.shtml#scienceplan.

If you will need an ice core or a hole drilled in a glacier or ice sheet in the coming decade, or a rock core from under shallow glacial ice, please make sure that the high-level articulation of your science is captured in the IDPO Long Range Science Plan. If it isn't, send corrections, updates, or additions to Icedrill 'at' Dartmouth 'dot' edu.

Winkie Drill
In preparation for the upcoming field season in Antarctica, IDDO outfitted the Winkie Drill with a new electric motor and larger diameter core barrel for collecting 76 mm diameter cores. Testing of the updated drill is ongoing at the IDDO warehouse. The Winkie Drill will be shipped to Antarctica in September where it will be used to collect dirty ice cores in Ong Valley, Antarctica, to depths of up to 20 meters.

Stampfli 2-Inch Drill
IDDO shipped the very lightweight, agile Stampfli 2-Inch Drill system to Greenland for field testing in June in conjunction with a funded field project taking place at Summit Station. The small, solar-powered drill operated well during the field test, producing 58 meters of core. Based on the results of the field test, IDDO is working to make minor repairs and modifications to the drill, procure spare parts, and develop a lightweight packing strategy for this system. The system could be ready for deployment and PI operation as early as the 2017-2018 Antarctic field season.

Rapid Air Movement (RAM) Drill
A conceptual design for extensive weight reduction based on the revised science requirements was completed in July. The conceptual design was presented to community scientists Sridhar Anandakrishnan and Paul Winberry for input in early August. Following that external review and any necessary modifications to the design, IDDO plans to begin purchasing primary components for the lighter-weight RAM Drill system in September/October.

Sediment Laden Lake Ice Drill
The Sediment Laden Lake Ice Drill is a lightweight, field portable hot water drill for drilling through several meters of sediment-laden lake ice. Following the April external design review and the ordering of components in May, IDDO began assembly of the system in June and plans to complete simple functionality testing at the IDDO warehouse in late summer and early fall. The system could be ready for deployment and PI operation as early as the 2018 Arctic field season.

Foro 3000 Drill
The Design Review of the Foro 3000 Drill was held on June 6. The Design Review was a virtual meeting where IDDO presented the Conceptual Design for the drill, and community scientists Eric Steig, Ed Brook, and T.J. Fudge provided feedback from the scientist/user perspective. The Conceptual Design for the drill is now complete. The Foro 3000 Drill is conceptually the same design as the existing Intermediate Depth Drill, but with a depth range extended to 3000 meters and drill run length extended from 2-meters to 3-meters.

DISC Drill versus Foro 3000 Analysis
Per discussions between IDPO, IDDO and community scientists, the next deep U.S. ice coring project will likely target Hercules Dome, Antarctica. IDDO, with assistance from Antarctic Support Contract and IDPO, is currently working with community representatives on a DISC Drill versus Foro 3000 Drill analysis, to help determine which system should be used for drilling at Hercules Dome. The analysis results will be summarized into a report for use by NSF and the science community.

Winch Simulator
Following discussions with Mary Albert and PI Ryan Bay, and due to decreased interest by the science community in IDDO purchasing an off-the-shelf winch simulator unit or designing a custom unit, IDDO plans to design a simple simulator circuit for each logging winch in inventory. IDDO envisions providing these circuit designs to PIs for building at their own institutions. PIs could then perform limited pre-deployment testing on their logging tools; however, IDDO will still encourage PIs to travel to Madison to test logging tools on the actual winches to be deployed. IDDO plans to complete design of the simulator circuits by the end of October.

On May 22-23, 2016, IDPO held the Subglacial Access Science Community Planning Workshop in Herndon, Virginia, which was a science-planning meeting organized by IDPO Director Mary Albert and was open to the community and to NSF. The goal of the meeting was to identify community consensus on the major community science projects in the coming decade that would need subglacial access drilling. Attendees at the workshop included 30 scientists, four NSF program managers, and one representative of Antarctic Support Contract. IDPO Subglacial Access Working Group (IDPO-SAWG) members Jill Mikucki, Ross Powell, and John Goodge led the discussions at the meeting, facilitated by Mary Albert of IDPO. The workshop produced the following four white papers, which are available on the IDPO-IDDO website at http://icedrill.org/about/sab-working-groups.shtml#sawg:

• Access Drilling Priorities in Ice Shelves and Ice Streams - Thwaites Glacier Region
• Access Drilling Priorities in Subglacial Aquatic Environments
• Access Drilling Priorities in the Antarctic Continental Interior
• Access Drilling Priorities in the Ross Sea Sector of the Antarctic Ice Sheet

IDPO conducted the annual Science Advisory Board (SAB) meeting in Madison, WI, on March 6-7. And IDDO conducted its annual Technical Advisory Board (TAB) meeting in Madison, WI, on March 7-8 to allow the two boards to overlap and talk with one another on March 7. The presentations and minutes from the meetings are available on the IDPO-IDDO website at http://icedrill.org/about/sab.shtml and http://icedrill.org/about/tab.shtml.

IDPO planned and convened the AGU Town Hall on Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions (December 13, 2016). The session included National Science Foundation remarks by Mike Jackson, IDPO-IDDO updates by Mary Albert, an update on International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences by Ed Brook, and an update on and the U.S. Rapid Access Ice Drill (RAID) by Bob Hawley (on behalf of John Goodge). As discussed during the Town Hall, U.S. scientists are encouraged to get involved in planning for the IDPO Long Range Science Plan and engage with the IDPO Science Advisory Board working groups.

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program Office (IDPO) is once again organizing a Town Hall meeting at the Fall AGU Meeting entitled 'TH010: Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions'. Ice sheets, glaciers, and the underlying bedrock, sediment and permafrost hold crucial evidence of past climate, ice sheet extent, and cratonic geology. National and international collaboration for drilling in the remote polar regions requires strategic coordination between science, technology, and logistics. This meeting will provide the research community with updates on IDPO-IDDO, IPICS, IPA, RAID, and WISSARD drilling initiatives. Opportunities for community involvement will be showcased, and input from the audience will be solicited.

Date: Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Time: 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
Place: Moscone West, 2005
Convener: Mary Albert

AGU meeting website for more information: https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm16/meetingapp.cgi/Session/14227

For further information, please contact Mary Albert (Mary.R.Albert at dartmouth.edu)

The IDPO Science Advisory Board, IDPO, IDDO, and the science community, under Mary Albert's leadership, updated the IDPO Long Range Science Plan. The purpose of the Long Range Science Plan is to articulate goals and make recommendations for the direction for U.S. ice coring and drilling science, and for the development of drilling technology, infrastructure and logistical support needed to enable the science. The companion Long Range Drilling Technology Plan, updated by IDDO, identifies the drills and technologies needed to successfully implement the science in the Long Range Science Plan. Both plans are revisited and revised as appropriate each spring.

On May 22-23, 2016, IDPO held the 2016 Subglacial Access Science Community Planning Workshop in Herndon, Virginia, which was a science-planning meeting organized by IDPO Director Mary Albert and was open to the community and to NSF. The goal of the meeting was to identify community consensus on the major community science projects in the coming decade that would need subglacial access drilling. Attendees at the workshop included 30 scientists, four NSF program managers, and one representative of Antarctic Support Contract. IDPO Subglacial Access Working Group (IDPO-SAWG) members Jill Mikucki, Ross Powell, and John Goodge led the discussions at the meeting, facilitated by Mary Albert of IDPO. IDDO Program Director Kristina Slawny and Terry Benson (Physical Sciences Lab, University of Wisconsin – Madison) also participated in the workshop. Download the workshop's final agenda and participant list. The workshop produced the following white papers:

• Access Drilling Priorities in Ice Shelves and Ice Streams - Thwaites Glacier Region
• Access Drilling Priorities in Subglacial Aquatic Environments
• Access Drilling Priorities in the Antarctic Continental Interior
• Access Drilling Priorities in the Ross Sea Sector of the Antarctic Ice Sheet

The IDPO Science Advisory Board (SAB) meeting was held on April 11-12, 2016 at the Hilton Arlington in Arlington, VA. Planning for the meeting was a joint effort by Mary Albert and SAB Chair Ed Brook. With participation of the entire SAB membership and attendance by several program officers and section heads at NSF Polar Programs, as well as IDPO and IDDO management, the meeting was very productive in identifying the future direction of the science for the IDPO Long Range Science Plan and associated ice-drilling endeavors. Discussions also involved scenarios of possibilities for future hot water ice access drilling.

IDPO planned and convened the AGU Town Hall on Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions (Dec 17, 2015) with co-convenor John Goodge. Presentations and Q&A were held on the topics of IDPO-IDDO (Albert), International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences (IPICS; Severinghaus), Rapid Access Ice Drill (RAID; Goodge), and Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling (WISSARD; Mikucki).

May 22-23, 2016
Marriott Washington Dulles Suites
Herndon, Virginia, USA

Scientific discoveries achieved from, within, and beneath the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, ice caps and valley glaciers are critical to society today, but large group endeavors are not achieved without significant advance planning. What is your vision for future subglacial science? The U.S. Ice Drilling Program Office (IDPO) is hosting an interdisciplinary science community-planning workshop to identify the science drivers, targets, and timelines of subglacial access drilling for the coming decade. Outcomes from the workshop will be used in the IDPO Long Range Science Plan for 2016-2026. This workshop, originally scheduled for January but postponed due to winter storm Jonas, has been rescheduled to May 22-23, 2016.

The goal of this workshop is to form consensus within the U.S. science community on scientific goals, potential drilling targets, and proposed dates and timelines for major science projects that will require subglacial access drilling over the coming decade, possibly in joint endeavors with international partners. This information will be used in the 2016-2026 update of the IDPO Long Range Science Plan, which is the foundation for identifying and developing appropriate drilling technologies for use in larger projects defined by the U.S. science community. The workshop will be held on May 22-23, 2016, at the Washington Dulles Marriott Suites Hotel in Herndon, VA. All interested scientists who will be seeking science funding from a U.S. agency are encouraged to participate, including, but not limited to, those from the fields of glaciology, paleoclimatology, glacial geology, biology, and earth science. Scientists should come to the workshop prepared to summarize scientific research questions to be addressed by subglacial drilling in the coming decade, and to identify likely target areas, technologies needed, and timelines for completion of projects that they are likely to propose in the near-term or long-term future.

Sponsor and IDPO Lead:
Mary Albert, Dartmouth

IDPO Subglacial Access Working Group Conveners:
Ross Powell, Northern Illinois University
Jill Mikucki, Middlebury College
John Goodge, University of Minnesota-Duluth

Dates:
Sat, May 21: arrive in evening
Sun, May 22: meeting all day
Mon, May 23: meeting in morning; return home in afternoon

More information is posted, along with the online registration form, at https://icedrill.org/meetings/subglacial-access-drilling-idpo-science-planning-workshop. Attendees should register at this site.

** Registration for the workshop closes on Friday, May 6. **

10-minute presentation slots are available in the agenda for participants interested in "making the case" for specific future subglacial drilling projects. Please indicate your interest in making a brief presentation in the registration form. We will send registered participants updates on the agenda and details of the meeting. Feel free to send comments to us at Icedrill@Dartmouth.edu, or contact one of us directly.

Workshop website and registration:
https://icedrill.org/meetings/subglacial-access-drilling-idpo-science-planning-workshop

January 21-23, 2016
Marriott Washington Dulles Suites
Herndon, Virginia, USA

Scientific discoveries achieved from, within, and beneath the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, ice caps and valley glaciers are critical to society today, but large group endeavors are not achieved without significant advance planning. What is your vision for future subglacial science? The U.S. Ice Drilling Program Office (IDPO) is hosting an interdisciplinary science community-planning workshop to identify the science drivers, targets, and timelines of subglacial access drilling for the coming decade. The goal of this workshop is to form consensus within the U.S. science community on scientific goals, potential drilling targets, and proposed dates and timelines for major science projects that will require subglacial access drilling over the coming decade, possibly in joint endeavors with international partners. This information will be used in the 2016-2026 update of the IDPO Long Range Science Plan, which is the foundation for identifying and developing appropriate drilling technologies for use in larger projects defined by the U.S. science community. This workshop will be held on January 21-23, 2016, at the Washington Dulles Marriott Suites Hotel in Herndon, VA. All interested scientists who will be seeking science funding from a U.S. agency are encouraged to participate, including, but not limited to, those from the fields of glaciology, paleoclimatology, glacial geology, biology, and earth science. Scientists should come to the meeting prepared to summarize scientific research questions to be addressed by subglacial drilling in the coming decade, and to identify likely target areas, technologies needed, and timelines for completion of projects that they are likely to propose in the near-term or long-term future.

Sponsor and IDPO Lead:
Mary Albert, Dartmouth

IDPO Subglacial Access Working Group Conveners:
Ross Powell, Northern Illinois University
Jill Mikucki, Middlebury College
John Goodge, University of Minnesota-Duluth

More information is posted, along with the online registration form, at https://icedrill.org/meetings/subglacial-access-drilling-idpo-science-planning-workshop. Attendees should register at this site. 10-minute presentation slots are available in the agenda for participants interested in "making the case" for specific future subglacial drilling projects. Please indicate your interest in making a brief presentation in the registration form. We will send registered participants updates on the agenda and details of the meeting. Feel free to send comments to us at Icedrill at Dartmouth dot edu, or contact one of us directly.

Background Information:
The current IDPO Long Range Science Plan for the ice coring and drilling community is available for download on www.Icedrill.org; we update the plan every year in June. This plan drives the NSF budget for U.S. ice drilling activities. We encourage scientists to work with IDPO to forecast your science plans over the next decade -- this enables us to ensure that the ice drilling technology will be ready when needed by your science.

Outcomes from this workshop will be directly incorporated into the IDPO Long Range Science Plan. Specifically, discussions from this meeting will be reflected in the science descriptions, timeline and planning matrices in the Long Range Science Plan, and will be used to identify drills, platforms and logistical support needed to achieve the science. We hope that you and your colleagues will join us in this planning.

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program Office (IDPO) is once again organizing a Town Hall meeting at the Fall AGU Meeting entitled 'TH43G: Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions'. Ice sheets and the underlying bedrock and sediment and permafrost hold crucial evidence of past climate and cratonic geology. National and international collaboration for drilling in the remote polar regions requires strategic coordination between science, technology, and logistics. This town hall will provide the research community with updates on IDPO-IDDO, IPICS, RAID, and WISSARD initiatives. Opportunities for community involvement will be showcased, and input from the audience will be solicited.

Date: Thursday, 17 December 2015
Time: 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
Place: Moscone West - Room 2002

AGU meeting website for more information:
http://tinyurl.com/olegvq5

For further information, please contact Mary Albert (Mary.R.Albert at dartmouth.edu)

The IDPO Science Advisory Board, IDPO, IDDO, and the science community, under Mary Albert's leadership, updated the IDPO Long Range Science Plan. The purpose of the Long Range Science Plan is to articulate goals and make recommendations for the direction for U.S. ice coring and drilling science, and for the development of drilling technology, infrastructure and logistical support needed to enable the science. The companion Long Range Drilling Technology Plan, updated by IDDO, identifies the drills and technologies needed to successfully implement the science in the Long Range Science Plan. Both plans are revisited and revised as appropriate each spring.

The IDPO Science Advisory Board (SAB) meeting was held on April 16-17, 2015 at the Hilton Arlington in Arlington, VA. Planning for the meeting was a joint effort by Mary Albert and SAB Chair Ed Brook. With participation of the entire SAB membership and attendance by seven NSF Program Managers as well as IDPO and IDDO management, the meeting was very productive in identifying the future direction of the science for the IDPO Long Range Science Plan and associated ice-drilling endeavors. Discussions also involved scenarios of possibilities for future hot water ice access drilling. The minutes and presentations from the meeting are available at http://icedrill.org/about/sab.shtml .

On December 15, 2014, the fifth annual Town Hall on Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions organized by Mary Albert was held at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco. This year John Goodge was the co-convener. The event provided the research community with updates on IDPO-IDDO (Mary Albert), International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences (IPICS; Ed Brook and Dorthe Dahl-Jensen), RAID (John Goodge and Blaise Stephanus), WISSARD (Slawek Tulaczyk), and NSF (Lisa Clough and Nature McGinn), and also included interactive discussion with the audience. The successful event included approximately 75 attendees.

Date: 15 December 2014
Time: 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Place: Moscone West - Room 2006

TH13C. Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions
IDPO is once again organizing a town hall meeting at the Fall AGU Meeting entitled 'Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions'. Ice sheets and the underlying bedrock and sediment hold crucial evidence of past climate and cratonic geology. National and international collaboration for drilling in the remote polar regions requires strategic coordination between science, technology, and logistics. This town hall will provide the research community with updates on IDPO-IDDO, NICL, IPICS, RAID, and ANDRILL initiatives. Opportunities for community involvement will be showcased, and input from the audience will be solicited.

AGU Meeting website for more information:
http://fallmeeting.agu.org/2014/events/th13c-scientific-drilling-in-the-polar-regions/

On June 26, a technical review of the Scalable Hot Water Drill at IDDO was organized by Mary Albert. Participating reviewers included Martin Truffer, Keith Makinson, and Ted Scambos. A technical review of IDDO's Agile Sub-Ice Geological Drill was organized by Mary Albert and held on July 31. Technical reviewers were Drs. George Cooper, John Stone, Jaakko Putkonen, and Ed Brook. Both reviews were held via web teleconference using the IDPO web-conferencing ability; this enabled significant exchange of information while avoiding the need to travel.

IDPO worked with the research community and the IDPO Science Advisory Board to establish the 2014-2024 Long Range Science Plan. The Long Range Science Plan is an interdisciplinary community document that identifies the compelling science in the coming decade that requires use of ice drilling technology.

IDDO developed the 2014-2024 Long Range Drilling Technology Plan in response to the Long Range Science Plan. The Drilling Technology Plan identifies drilling solutions that will enable science projects that were identified in the Science Plan.

IDPO organized and hosted the Community Workshop on Ice Coring and the Ice Core Working Group Meeting, which were both productive meetings and served to gather input from the community useful for long range planning. Similar meetings will be organized for the subglacial and borehole logging communities in the coming 18 months.

Under a new Cooperative Agreement between the NSF and Dartmouth, the Ice Drilling Program Office and its partner the Ice Drilling Design and Operations group will continue to lead U.S. science and engineering efforts involving ice coring and drilling. The organization consists of IDPO at Dartmouth with subawards to IDPO efforts at the University of New Hampshire and the Colorado School of Mines, and to IDDO efforts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Date: 12 December 2013
Time: 6:15 PM - 7:15 PM
Place: Moscone West Room 2003

TH45B. Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions

IDPO is once again organizing a Town Hall meeting at the Fall AGU Meeting entitled "Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions". Ice sheets and ocean sediments hold crucial evidence of past climate. National and international collaboration for drilling in the remote polar regions requires strategic coordination between science, technology, and logistics. The research community is invited to hear updates on recent planning including IDPO-IDDO, NICL, IPICS, RAID and ANDRILL initiatives. Opportunities for community involvement will be showcased and input solicited.

AGU Meeting website for more information:
http://fallmeeting.agu.org/2013/events/th45b-scientific-drilling-in-the-polar-regions/

On June 19, 2013, a letter from Scott Borg (Section Head, Antarctic Sciences, National Science Foundation) and Brian Stone (Section Head, Antarctic Infrastructure and Logistics, National Science Foundation) was released discussing the fiscal challenges facing the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP). In the letter, the NSF re-affirms its commitment to existing projects, while stressing that all components of the USAP (support organizations and science projects alike) are examining ways in which to reduce costs. The letter can be downloaded at:
http://www.nsf.gov/geo/plr/ant/dcl_usap_fiscal_challenges.pdf

IDPO and IDDO personnel continued work on local arrangements for the 7th International Workshop on Ice Drilling Technology. IDPO updated the Long Range Science Plan for the coming decade with input from the Science Advisory Board and the science community. IDDO, in turn, updated the Long Range Drilling Technology Plan, highlighting planned drill system development over the next decade. IDDO also worked with the Antarctic Support Contractor and the South Pole Ice Core PIs to plan for the future use of the Intermediate Depth Drill at the South Pole Station.

Registration is now open for the 7th International Workshop on Ice Drilling Technology, to be held at the Pyle Center at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA, from 9-13 September 2013. The deadline for registration is 30 June 2013. Please note that if you previously submitted an "Expression of Interest" to attend the workshop you must now actually register for the workshop. To register for the workshop, visit:
http://icedrill.org/meetings/7th-international-workshop-ice-drilling-technology

Submission of abstracts for the workshop is now also open. Participants wishing to give an oral presentation and/or present a poster are required to submit an abstract. The deadline for submitting abstracts is 30 June 2013. A program containing all of the submitted abstracts will be provided to all workshop participants. In order for your abstract to be included in the program handout it must be submitted by the deadline. All abstracts must be submitted by using the online form located at:
http://icedrill.org/meetings/7th-international-workshop-ice-drilling-technology

The workshop will take a comprehensive look at the latest innovations in ice drilling technology, including ice coring, borehole logging, subglacial sampling, core logging and handling, and field logistics. The workshop will promote the exchange of knowledge, ideas, and experience among many countries and individuals who are involved in ice drilling projects. People active in the technical side of ice drilling are especially encouraged to participate, as are technical representatives from nations who have recently begun ice drilling programs for the first time.

The workshop will begin Monday evening with registration and an icebreaker. The main form of presentations will be oral sessions (approx. 20 minutes per talk) during the day on Tuesday through Friday. On Tuesday, from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm, there will be a dedicated poster session. The posters will be displayed in their own room near the meeting room, and may remain on display for the duration of the conference. On Wednesday afternoon there is an optional guided tour of short segments of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail led by Emeritus Prof. Dave Mickelson, co-author of Geology of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail.

Workshop participants must make their own hotel reservations. Rooms have been held at several hotels close to the Pyle Center. The rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information visit:
http://icedrill.org/meetings/7th-international-workshop-ice-drilling-technology

For more information about the workshop and to download the 2nd circular, visit:
http://icedrill.org/meetings/7th-international-workshop-ice-drilling-technology

Science Advisory Board Meeting
IDPO held the IDPO Science Advisory Board (SAB) annual meeting on March 14-15, 2013 at the Hilton in Arlington, VA, where members of the SAB, IDPO, IDDO, and NSF shared information and discussed aspects of the Long Range Science Plan. The draft 2013 Long Range Science Plan will be released shortly, and comments and input from the community will be requested. The minutes from the SAB meeting are being drafted and, when finished, will be available for download at http://icedrill.org/about/sab.shtml.

DISC Drill - Updated Science Requirements
IDPO discussed with IDDO the need for updated Science Requirements for long range planning for the DISC Drill. IDPO will work with the community and with IDDO this summer to revisit the requirements and establish updated science requirements that will establish a direction for work on the DISC Drill in coming years, including preparation for very cold conditions.

During the first quarter of FFY2013, IDPO-IDDO personnel participated in the International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences (IPICS) meeting in France, where they also advertised planning and invited contributions for the 7th International Workshop on Ice Drilling Technology. IDPO-IDDO also participated in the Oldest Ice international workshop and gave presentations on the RAID and WAIS Divide projects. IDPO worked with the Science Advisory Board to initiate planning of the spring 2013 meeting, which will occur on March 14- 15, 2013 at the Hilton in Arlington, VA. IDPO and IDDO personnel worked on local arrangements and establishment of the website for the 7th International Workshop on Drilling Technology.

IDPO was active in the American Geophysical Union meeting, December 3-7, 2012. Albert organized and Twickler participated in the AGU Town Hall on Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions, an interdisciplinary event which included contributions from IDPO-IDDO (Albert), NICL (Twickler), IPICS (Brook), Oldest Ice (Severinghaus), RAID (Goodge), ANDRILL (Levy), and SCAR-PAIS (DeConto).

Linda Morris organized the AGU sessions on climate literacy challenges related to the emerging Next Generation Science Standards. Linda Morris was Lead Convener for two oral and one poster sessions at the AGU fall conference. The full day strand, entitled Climate Literacy: Preparing K-12 Students to Address Next Generation Challenges, targeted educational leaders and scientists and offered presentations by national speakers involved with the changing science standards, their role in promoting climate change education and best practices for their implementation.

The 7th International Workshop on Ice Drilling Technology, which is sponsored by IDPO-IDDO and is endorsed by IPICS, will be held at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA, from 9-13 September 2013.

The workshop will take a comprehensive look at the latest technological innovations in ice drilling technology, including ice coring, borehole logging, subglacial sampling, core logging, on handling and field logistics. The workshop will promote the exchange of knowledge, ideas, and experience among many countries and individuals who are involved in ice drilling projects. People active in the technical side of ice drilling are especially encouraged to participate, as are technical representatives from nations who have recently begun ice drilling programs for the first time.

The workshop will begin Monday evening with registration and an icebreaker. The main form of presentations will be oral sessions (approx. 20 min per talk) during the day on Tuesday through Friday. On Tuesday, from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm, there will be a dedicated poster session. The posters will be displayed in their own room near the meeting room, and may remain on display for the duration of the conference. On Wednesday afternoon there will be an optional field excursion.

If you are interested in attending the workshop please complete the expression of interest form as soon as possible, but no later than 12 April 2013.
https://icedrill.org/meetings/7th-international-workshop-ice-drilling-technology

Participants wishing to give either an oral presentation and/or present a poster are required to submit an abstract. Deadline for abstract submission is 30 June 2013.

The first circular for the workshop has already been released and can be download from the workshop's website. The second circular (early 2013) will give more information about travel and accommodation arrangements, registration, the general program, excursions, and guidelines for abstracts and papers.

For the latest information about the workshop, visit:
https://icedrill.org/meetings/7th-international-workshop-ice-drilling-technology

The IDPO/IDDO will hold the 7th International Workshop on Ice Drilling Technology in 2013. The workshop will be held at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA, from 9-13 September. Following in the footsteps of the six previous ice drilling technology workshops held between 1974 and 2006, the 7th International Workshop on Ice Drilling Technology will take a comprehensive look at the latest technological innovations in ice drilling technology, including ice coring, borehole logging, subglacial sampling, and field logistics. The workshop will promote the exchange of knowledge, ideas, and experience among many countries and individuals who are involved in ice drilling projects. People active in the technical side of ice drilling are especially encouraged to participate. Papers from the workshop will be published in a special issue of a peer-reviewed journal. The first circular for the workshop will be released soon. For the latest information about the workshop, visit:
https://icedrill.org/meetings/7th-international-workshop-ice-drilling-technology

Date: 3 December 2012
Time: 6:15 pm - 7:15 pm
Place: Moscone Center; Moscone West, Room 2008

IDPO is once again organizing a Town Hall meeting at the Fall AGU Meeting entitled "Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions". Ice sheets and ocean sediments hold important climate evidence from the past. International collaboration for drilling in the polar regions requires coordination between science, technology, and logistics. Presenters at this meeting will report on recent planning by the IDPO/IDDO, IPICS, ANDRILL, IODP, SCAR-ACE and WAIS initiatives. Opportunities for community involvement in interdisciplinary planning will be highlighted and input solicited. The Town Hall is on Monday, December 3 from 6:15 pm - 7:15 pm in Moscone West, room 2008. Please check the 2012 Fall AGU Meeting website for more information:
http://fallmeeting.agu.org/2012/calendar/town-halls/

Scientists interested in using the DISC Drill in the future need to work with the Ice Drilling Program Office - Science Advisory Board (http://icedrill.org/about/sab.shtml) to formulate their plans and to ensure that their science is articulated in the Long Range Science Plan (http://icedrill.org/scientists/scientists.shtml#scienceplan), which is updated annually each spring. The current schedule for the DISC Drill is as follows:

• Dec 2012 - Jan 2013: Replicate coring at WAIS Divide, Antarctica
• Dec 2013: Disassemble and pack DISC Drill at WAIS Divide
• Nov 2014 - Jan 2015: Disassemble arch and prepare for traverse back to McMurdo Station
• Nov 2015 - Jan 2016: Traverse DISC Drill from WAIS Divide to McMurdo Station
• Feb 2016: Retrograde DISC Drill to CONUS via vessel
• May 2016: DISC Drill arrives in Madison, WI
• May 2016 - Nov 2017: Inspect, re-build, re-design and replace drill system components if necessary

Given the anticipated schedule above, the DISC Drill could be ready for shipment to the field again in late 2017. For the latest information and schedule for the DISC Drill, visit: https://icedrill.org/equipment/deep-ice-sheet-coring-drill

During its 2012 meeting, the IDPO Science Advisory Board (SAB) voted to add elements to its structure to include standing working groups by including the existing Ice Core Working Group, and forming two new working groups: Borehole Logging and Subglacial Access Drilling. Other working groups may be added in the future if there is a need. Each working group will have a membership including a SAB member, and will hold virtual meetings through teleconferences and webinars to provide broader community input to the SAB for use in forming the IDPO Long Range Science Plan and other actions relevant to the working group interest.

Working Group on Subglacial Access Drilling (WGSAD)
The WGSAD represents the broad range of scientists interested in gaining data from beneath glaciers and ice sheets. The breadth of fields includes (but is not limited to) basement and bedrock geology, Cenozoic sedimentary basins, till, heat flow, exposure dating, stream hydrology (englacial, subglacial), geochemistry, limnology, oceanography, microbiology, etc. Ross Powell, currently on the SAB, is initially leading the group. Other standing SAB members currently representing these communities are Jill Mikucki for microbiology, and Howard Conway for exposure dating.

Working Group on Borehole Logging (WGBL)
The WGBL represents the broad range of scientists interested in deploying logging instruments in glaciers and ice sheets. Ryan Bay and Gary Clow, who are both currently on the SAB, are initially leading the group.

*** If you are interested in contributing to the WGSAD or the WGBL and advising on future paths the U.S. ice drilling program should take, please notify Joseph Souney of IDPO at joseph.souney@unh.edu by May 18. ***

Ice Core Working Group (ICWG)
The ICWG is an established group of scientist who investigate scientific issues pertaining to ice cores. Members are selected from the scientific community and their role consists of providing guidance to the NSF on topics related to sample access, distribution, inventory, policy issues, operation and maintenance of the National Ice Core Laboratory (NICL), and future directions for ice core research. Karl Kreutz, who is currently on the SAB, is the current chair of the ICWG. For more information about the ICWG, visit: http://nicl-smo.unh.edu/icwg/index.shtml

For more information about the SAB, its Working Groups, and to access SAB-related documents, visit: http://icedrill.org/about/sab.shtml

IDPO is once again organizing a Town Hall meeting at the 2011 Fall AGU Meeting entitled "Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions". ANDRILL and SCAR-ACE are co-sponsors of the event. Presenters at this meeting will report on recent planning from the IDPO/IDDO, IPICS, ANDRILL, IODP, SCAR-ACE, SHALDRIL, WAIS, and Arctic Ocean drilling initiatives, and will provide time to discuss current opportunities for community involvement in long-term interdisciplinary planning. The workshop is on Thursday, December 8 from 12:30-1:30 PM in the Moscone West, Room 2006. Please check the 2011 Fall AGU Meeting web site for more information (http://sites.agu.org/fallmeeting/).

The revised Long Range Science Plan and Long Range Drilling Technology Plan are now available on the www.icedrill.org web site. As a reminder, both plans are updated yearly in the spring. Please have a look at the plans and if science from your community will need ice drilling or coring support in the coming decade, and it isn't already included in these plans, be sure to send a community-endorsed white paper describing the science and drilling needs to us at Icedrill@Dartmouth.edu before March 2012 so that it can be included in the next revision of the long range plans.

The first Open Science Conference of the International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences (IPICS) will be held from 1-5 October 2012 at the beautiful setting of the Belembra club, situated on the border of the Mediterranean Sea in one of the best spots of the French Cote d'Azur.

The objective of the conference is to present, discuss and put into perspective the most recent results of past and current ice core drilling projects (deep drillings such as EPICA, WAIS Divide, NEEM, TALDICE,... but also shallow drillings) in Antarctica and Greenland. Other ice core drilling projects conducted in non-polar glaciers or in other Arctic sites are also welcome. For more information, please visit the conference web site at: http://www.ipics2012.org/.

The Ice Drilling Program Office (IDPO) sponsored an interdisciplinary ice community workshop to identify future Arctic and Antarctic drilling/coring sites, the ice drilling technology that will be needed, and the timeline over the coming decade for conducting scientific endeavors important for advancing science on new frontiers. The workshop, organized by Mary Albert, enabled community consensus on plans for future endeavors to tackle challenging questions using evidence from within and under glaciers and ice sheets, including rapid access to the base of the ice sheet, lightweight human-portable drills, agile horizontal clean drilling for biological studies, and modular hot water drills. Scientists from a variety of disciplines participated in the workshop, which was an open workshop with invited and contributed talks.

On April 15-16, 2011 the IDPO sponsored an interdisciplinary Ice Drilling Science Community Planning Workshop held in Herndon, VA. The purpose of the workshop was to identify future Arctic and Antarctic ice drilling and coring sites, the ice drilling technology that will be needed at the sites, and the timeline over the coming decade for conducting the science. The workshop was well attended, with thirty-four people from the science, science support, and science funding communities in attendance, and proved to be very productive. The first day of the workshop started with short presentations from the scientists discussing their current ice drilling technology needs/desires. The afternoon involved forming four break-out groups centered around the following subject areas: (1) subglacial aquatic environments access drilling; (2) 10-year plan for shallow (1-400 meter deep) coring capabilities; (3) rapid access ice drilling (RAID) system; and (4) hot water drilling. Each break-out group discussed future drilling sites, drilling requirements, and tentative schedules, and began summarizing the information in a short white paper. Day two continued with the individual break-out group discussions and white paper development, and concluded with each break-out group reporting back to the entire workshop on their developments and whole group discussions.

Results from the workshop are reflected in updates to the science descriptions, timeline and planning matrices in the Long Range Science Plan and the corresponding Long Range Drilling Technology Plan to help ensure that the drilling technology will be ready when needed by the community's science.

For the workshop agenda and the list of workshop attendees, visit the workshop's web site: https://icedrill.org/meetings/2011-ice-drilling-science-community-planning-workshop

It is that time of year again when we solicit the ice coring and drilling community for input and comments on the Long Range Science Plan. The draft 2011 Plan has been updated to reflect the outcomes from the April 15-16, 2011 Ice Drilling Science Community Planning Workshop, as well as the outcomes from the 2011 Science Advisory Board meeting. The Plan is meant to be the forward planning path for our sciences. Please take the time to review the document and send comments, questions, additions, etc to icedrill@dartmouth.edu by June 1. On June 1 we will incorporate the information we receive and produce the final 2011 Long Range Science Plan. As usual, this Plan will be revisited and revised as appropriate each spring. We thank you in advance for your input.

http://icedrill.org/scientists/scientists.shtml#scienceplan

This spring the IDPO is sponsoring an interdisciplinary ice community planning workshop to identify future Arctic and Antarctic drilling/coring sites, the ice drilling technology that will be needed, and the timeline over the coming decade for conducting scientific endeavors important for advancing science on many frontiers. The 2-day workshop will be open to the entire community and is planned for April 15-16. The workshop will be held at a location near Washington D.C. so that NSF program managers will have an opportunity to attend, and will be located close enough to an airport so that people from the west coast can fly in and out easily.

Results from the workshop will be reflected in updates in the science descriptions, timeline, and planning matrices in the Long Range Science Plan and Long Range Drilling Technology Plan, so that we can ensure that the drilling technology will be ready when needed by your science.

More information about the workshop will be distributed shortly via the IceDrill.News email list and via the IDPO/IDDO web site (www.icedrill.org).

The IDPO Long Range Science Plan identifies acquisition of an intermediate drill as a high priority item for the US research community. In FFY2010, IDPO initiated community discussions on the science requirements of the drill, which may be modeled after the Hans Tausen drill (or the NZ modification of that drill). In August, IDDO engineer Tanner Kuhl traveled to NEEM to observe testing of the NZ drill, in order to gain some first-hand knowledge about the drill. IDPO will finish the process of working with the community to come to consensus on the science requirements for an Intermediate Drill in the first quarter of FFY 2011. During FFY 2011, IDDO will create a Project Management Plan, IDPO-IDDO will confer with international partners to gain drawings and collaboration, and IDDO will provide cost estimates and a construction plan for an intermediate drill.

IDPO is partnering with ANDRILL to hold a town hall meeting at the 2010 Fall AGU Meeting entitled "Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions". Presenters at this meeting will report on recent planning by the IDPO/IDDO, IPICS, ANDRILL, IODP, SCAR-ACE, SHALDRIL, and WAIS initiatives, and will provide time to discuss current opportunities for community involvement in long-term interdisciplinary planning for coring and drilling, including access to resultant boreholes. The workshop is on Wednesday December 15 from 12:30-1:30. Please check the 2010 Fall AGU Meeting web site for more information (http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm10/).

In addition to soliciting input into the Science Plan, IDPO solicited input from the community with regards to a proposed intermediate depth drill, logging winches, and preservation of older boreholes for future logging. Draft science requirements will be circulated through the research community for comment soon for the intermediate drill and logging winch, and will also be discussed at the upcoming WAIS Divide meeting in La Jolla in September.

The Long Range Science Plan 2010-2020 was developed in collaboration with and on behalf of the ice coring and drilling community, and submitted to NSF. Input received from the IDPO Science Advisory Board at its meeting in March, along with additional comments from the SAB members and members of the general science community, who responded to a daft version of the plan on our web site in the spring, were used to update the Science Plan. Using the Science Plan as input along with advice from its Technical Advisory Board (TAB), IDDO developed the Long Range Drilling Technology Plan 2010-2020 and submitted it to the NSF. These Plans are available on the icedrill.org web site. Both plans are updated yearly in the spring. Please have a look at the plans, and if science from your community will need ice drilling or coring support in the coming decade, be sure to send a community-endorsed white paper describing the science and drilling needs to us at Icedrill@Dartmouth.edu before March 2011, so that it can be included in future planning.

We want to bring your attention to the updated Draft Long Range Science Plan for ice coring and drilling produced by IDPO and the Science Advisory Board (SAB). We are making this Draft available on our web site (see link below) to solicit community input on the Long Range Science Plan for the ice coring and drilling community. This document is meant to be the forward planning path for our sciences. We encourage everyone to review the document and send comments, questions, additions, etc to icedrill@dartmouth.edu. This is your chance to have your say about the future of ice drilling science. On June 1, 2010 we will incorporate the information we receive and produce the final 2010 Long Range Science Plan. This plan will be revisited and revised as appropriate each spring. We thank you in advance for your input.

http://icedrill.org/index.shtml#scienceplan