Meetings / Workshops

The 9th International Symposium on Ice Drilling Technology was held in Potsdam, Germany, on September 14-19, 2025. As a follow-up to the eight previous ice drilling technology symposia held between 1974 and 2019, the 9th International Symposium on Ice Drilling Technology took a comprehensive look at the latest innovations in ice drilling technology, including but not limited to mechanical and thermal drilling, borehole logging, subglacial sampling, core logging and handling, and field logistics. IDP Engineers Jay Johnson and Tanner Kuhl attended the symposium in-person, and others at IDP-WI participated via Zoom. Seven IDP presentations were given and five posters were presented, covering topics including 700 Drill development, advancements in drill electronics, high-altitude thermal drilling, development of shallow wet drilling capability, and research into and use of different materials for fabricating replaceable cutter inserts.

As a follow-up to the symposium, the International Glaciological Society (IGS) will prepare a special collection of the Annals of Glaciology with the theme ‘Ice Drilling Technology’ in 2026. The Collection will be part of Annals Volume 67. The papers will be published continuously online as part of Annals Volume 67 and will simultaneously be brought together in the special issue’s online thematic ‘Collection’. Symposium participants and non-participants alike are encouraged to submit manuscripts for this thematic Collection. For more information, read the Ice Drilling Technology – Call for Papers solicitation by the IGS.

Publications from the eight previous ice drilling technology symposia are available within the Library section of the IDP website.

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The NSF Ice Drilling Program (IDP) will hold the AGU Town Hall on Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions on Wednesday, 17 December 2025, from 18:00-19:00 Central Standard Time (CST) in room 283-285 of the New Orleans Convention Center, New Orleans, Louisiana. All AGU Town Halls are in-person only this year (no live streaming). However, the AGU website states that “All town halls will be recorded (slides and audio) and posted in the mobile app for on-demand viewing within 72 hours of the session.” 

Abstract: Ice sheets, glaciers, and the underlying bedrock, sediment and permafrost hold crucial evidence about past conditions, 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 NSF Ice Drilling Program (IDP), ICECReW, NSF Center for Oldest Ice Exploration (COLDEX), and Hercules Dome. Opportunities for community involvement will be showcased, and input from the audience will be solicited.

Event: AGU Town Hall - TH35D - Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions
Date: Wednesday, 17 December 2025
Time: 18:00-19:00 Central Standard Time (CST)
Location: 283-285 of the New Orleans Convention Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Primary Contact: Mary R Albert, Dartmouth College
AGU meeting website: https://agu.confex.com/agu/agu25/meetingapp.cgi/Session/249098  

A successful School of Ice took place at Dartmouth College from June 23 to 28, 2025. The School of Ice is an advanced professional development meeting for faculty at 2- and 4-year colleges and universities. Advanced Placement high school educators also benefit from the experiential activities and resources.

Thirteen participants representing nine states came from 13 different institutions to experience ice core science through hands-on classroom labs, field trips, and interactions with ice core researchers and engineers. Participants built background knowledge and gained resources and confidence in their skills to incorporate cutting-edge ice core research into their existing courses.

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A virtual meeting of the Ice Core Working Group (ICWG) was held on April 8, 2025, 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), ICWG community planning, updates to the LRSP, ice drilling technology development priorities for the LRSP, and member rotations. The agenda and presentations from the meeting are available on the IDP website.

The members of the ICWG are:

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

A virtual meeting of the Englacial and Subglacial Access Working Group (ESAWG) was held on April 9, 2025, to discuss updates to the Long Range Science Plan (LRSP) and other ESAWG business. Discussions included updates from IDP and the NSF Ice Core Facility (NSF-ICF), discussion about an ESAWG white paper, ESAWG priorities for IPY, and ice drilling technology development priorities for the LRSP. The agenda and presentations from the meeting are available on the IDP website.

The members of the ESAWG are:

• Ryan Venturelli, Chair (Colorado School of Mines)
• Jason Briner (SUNY Buffalo)
• Brent Christner (University of Florida)
• Britney Schmidt (Cornell University)
• Jeff Severinghaus (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)
• Heidi Smith (Montana State University)
• Joseph Talghader (University of Minnesota)

The NSF Ice Drilling Program (IDP) convenes a Science Advisory Board (SAB) to form and update the Long Range Science Plan (LRSP) that addresses multiple aspects of ice core and other ice science and associated technology. The annual SAB meeting was held virtually on April 17, 2025. Topics included updates from IDP, the NSF Ice Core Facility (NSF-ICF), englacial and subglacial science updates, Englacial and Subglacial Access Working Group (ESAWG) plans for the future, SAB assessment of ESAWG community needs and IDP alignment, ice core science updates, Ice Core Working Group plans for the future, IDP personnel allocation and development priorities, and SAB prioritization of drilling technology development for the Long Range Science Plan. 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)
• 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)

The NSF Ice Drilling Program (IDP) convenes a Technical Assistance Board (TAB) of experts on the subject of drill innovation, design, and operation. The TAB meets in-person biennially but are available regularly via email for ongoing assistance with specific technical tasks as needed. The biennial TAB meeting was held on March 5-6, 2025, in Madison, Wisconsin (WI). Discussions included updates regarding recent and upcoming IDP fieldwork, discussion of IDP drill system electronics and shallow wet drill development, an update regarding IceCube upgrade activities, an open discussion of many drilling topics (e.g., pumps/chip transport/fluids, drill tents, driller staffing issues), drilling and technology updates from the TAB members, and a tour of the IDP-WI facility. Twenty-five people participated in-person and three joined via Zoom. As with each TAB meeting, IDP gained very valuable feedback from board members on equipment development projects, ideas regarding new technologies in ice drilling and other fields, as well as input on field project logistics. The agenda and notes from the meeting are available on the IDP website.

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The fourth Ice Core Early Career Researchers Workshop (ICECReW) will be held on May 15-16, 2025, at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, directly following the U.S. Ice Core Community Meeting (IceCOMM; May 12-14). ICECReW is an opportunity for early-career researchers to meet and discuss ice-related science. The theme of this year’s workshop is science writing, including making figures to communicate results, responding to peer reviews, how to structure papers, and deciding on journals and authorship. The workshop will also provide time for writing and peer review, and participants should bring materials they would like to work on (e.g., papers, dissertations, fellowship and grant applications). We will also have an evening social event on Sunday, May 11, before IceCOMM. 

ICECReW is intended for early-career researchers whose work contributes to polar sciences or paleoclimatology. We broadly define “early career” as someone within three years of PhD (before or after completion), although exceptions are certainly possible. 

Please join the Hercules Dome mailing list to ensure you receive all the meeting announcements: 
https://mailchi.mp/62d67fbe76e1/hercules-dome-signup-form 

More details for the workshop will be announced in early 2025. Funding will be available to partially or fully cover lodging for the main meeting and workshop, food, and registration fees. Participants must be affiliated with a U.S. institution to be eligible for travel support. Funding support for ICECReW is provided by NSF COLDEX and the NSF-funded Hercules Dome Ice Core project. 

The deadline for submitting the ICECReW application is February 6, 2025. 

Dates: May 15-16, 2025 
Location: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 
Application (deadline February 6, 2025): https://forms.gle/XAuBXYJaWPJtq3rn6 
Sponsors: NSF COLDEX and NSF Hercules Dome Ice Core Project 
Organizing Committee: Julia Andreasen, Ursula Jongebloed, Jacob Chalif, Kara Lamantia, Laurel Bayless, Bess Koffman, and T.J. Fudge 
2025 ICECReW website: https://herculesdome.org/icecrew-2025

The 4th U.S. Ice Core Community Meeting (IceCOMM) and a joint Hercules Dome workshop will be held May 12-14, 2025, at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN. 

IceCOMM is intended for anyone interested in ice core science and related fields, including ice-core analysis, ice or subglacial drilling, and glacier geophysics that supports or depends on ice-core records, paleoclimate, and contemporary climate and ice-sheet change. This year’s IceCOMM will include a half-day Hercules Dome workshop to update the community on logistics planning and coordination of Hercules Dome science. Those planning to submit proposals to be part of the Hercules Dome ice core ice-analysis team are encouraged to attend. We also strongly recommend joining the Hercules Dome mailing list at https://herculesdome.org/get-involved. 

Details on hotel rooms, travel support, and other aspects of the meeting and workshop will be publicized at https://herculesdome.org/ by the end of February 2025. Funding support for IceCOMM is provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) via the Hercules Dome Ice Core project. 

The meeting will be followed by an Ice Core Early Career Researchers Workshop (ICECReW) for early career researchers, which will be held May 15-16, 2025, also at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN. 

Dates: May 12-14, 2025 
Location: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 
Sponsor: NSF Hercules Dome Ice Core Project 
Organizing Committee: Peter Neff (local host, University of Minnesota), Eric Steig (Hercules Dome PI, University of Washington), Murat Aydin (University of California – Irvine), TJ Fudge (University of Washington), Kaitlin Keegan (University of Nevada – Reno), Bess Koffman (Colby College), and Brad Markle (University of Colorado) 
2025 IceCOMM website: https://herculesdome.org/us-ice-core-open-science-meeting-2025

The Town Hall on Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions was organized and led by IDP on December 11, 2024, at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting in Washington, D.C. Introductory remarks by NSF Program Manager Mike Jackson emphasized the need to plan for logistically light endeavors now and going into the future. The audience of 48 then heard brief updates on current and upcoming endeavors presented by Mary Albert for the NSF Ice Drilling Program, Peter Neff for NSF COLDEX, Joerg Schaefer for GreenDrill, Ursula Jongebloed for ICECReW (Ice Core Early Career Researchers Workshop), Eric Steig for Hercules Dome, and John Goodge for RAID (Rapid Access Ice Drill). The presentations from the town hall are available to download.

The IDP Englacial and Subglacial Access Working Group (ESAWG) had a successful in-person long-term science planning workshop on December 8, 2024, in Alexandria, VA. Workshop participants included an engaged group of 29 scientists with expertise ranging from subglacial geology, sediments & ecosystems to ice dynamics to borehole and englacial monitoring to engineering. The goal of the workshop was to find community consensus on priority science questions, locations, measurements, and technologies for englacial and subglacial science for the coming decade. The meeting started with remarks from Dr. Alex Isern, NSF Assistant Director for Geosciences. Early career scientist and ESAWG Chair Dr. Ryan Venturelli capably led discussions and planning activities.

Outcomes from the workshop include the identification of three key questions: 1) How will ice sheets contribute to sea level rise in the coming decades to century? 2) What drives grounding zone variability over tidal to millennial timescales? 3) How can we constrain bed conditions to better understand glacial basal sliding? 

Community priorities include: 

• Sub-ice access to the subglacial environment upstream and downstream of modern grounding zones
• Deep subglacial access to test for smaller ice sheet configurations in both Greenland and Antarctica
• Development of a smart hot water drill that enables deep (>3km) drilling and sample recovery from wet beds
• Development of technology to enable long-term subglacial observatories. 

White papers initiated at the workshop will be further developed, made available to the broader community for additional input, and finalized this winter to incorporate the results into the IDP Long Range Science Plan in spring 2025.

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