Koci drill for drilling in ice, sand and rock: drill requirements, design, performance, difficulties

A new man-portable drill designed to perform in ice with entrained sand and rock has been built. Designated the ‘Koci drill’, it was first used on rock-covered glaciers in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, during the 2006/07 field season. This drill is designed to be disassembled into component parts no heavier than 30 kg (not including the generator). For stability, the drill platform weight can be augmented with available rock. The field performance of the drill was generally good and both ice and rock were successfully penetrated and acceptable-quality ice cores up to 1 m long were collected during the 2007/08 season. The maximum depth achieved was 10.25 m. Given a concentrated effort at one or two sites per season, a depth of 40 m is achievable. Problems encountered in the field will be addressed in the next-generation design.