Analytical Solutions for Temperature Distribution in Ice Cores

The Polar Ice Coring Office (PICO), operated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks for the National Science Foundation, is charged with the development and operation of ice coring drill and augers for scientific research. In this capacity PICO has developed expertise in lightweight drills and augers and continues the research on applying state-of-the-art materials and techniques for ice coring devices. Many nations now have designated programs to sample deep within the world's ice caps, primarily to study evidence of past climate variations and the properties and movements of glaciers. PICO has developed a deep ice coring drill and has started a three-year project in the summer of 1990 to core through the Greenland ice cap. PICO has also been tasked to plan a similar Antarctic coring program for west Antarctica to begin in the 1992 austral summer. Many foreign nations are also conducting similar programs.