Science Requirements: Scalable Hot Water Access Drill

The IDPO Long Range Science Plan 2013 identified science goals for ice drilling that spanned a wide range of science targets. Rapid changes in speed of fast-flowing tide-water glaciers, outlet glaciers and ice streams observed over the past decade create urgency to understand their dynamics. Properties of the ice-bed interface exert strong control on the flow of glaciers and ice sheets. Scalable hot water access drills that are portable and capable of drilling to the bed of glaciers and ice sheets in much less than one season are needed to make basic measurements, including temperature, heat flux, and pressure. From virtual discussions organized by IDPO in December 2013, and follow-up teleconferences and discussions with the research community and with IDDO staff, these science requirements were developed.