News
3,330 Meters Is Reached at WAIS Divide
Dear WAIS Divide Enthusiast -
We are ELATED to pass along the fantastic news that the WAIS Divide Ice Core project has reached its goal this year of drilling 3,330 meters into the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. We just received notice from the camp that this goal was achieved at 12:24 PM on January 28, 2011, local time (6:24 PM, January 27, 2011, EST), with a final borehole depth of 3,329.956 meters. This is the second deepest ice core ever collected and could not have been achieved without the resources, dedication, commitment, perseverance and comradely of hundreds of people.
We at the WAIS Divide Science Coordination Office, on behalf of the science community, want to sincerely thank everyone for their help and support in recovering this monumental ice core. Without you, we wouldn't be at this point today. Please join us now in a toast celebrating this historic accomplishment!
Cheers,
Ken Taylor - Chief Scientist (and currently at WAIS Divide)
Mark Twickler
Joe Souney
Upcoming PolarConnect Live Events from WAIS Divide!
Heidi Roop will be hosting a live event from WAIS Divide to the States this Thursday Dec. 16th. Heidi will also host two other live events throughout the WAIS Divide drill season. This first event will focus on basic ice core science. People can phone in and watch a presentation live from the internet. The whole event will probably last about an hour. Last year, over 400 people joined the call to listen and ask questions. Please spread the word to anyone you think might be interested.
To register for the event and to receive instructions on how to join, go to:
http://www.polartrec.com/polar-connect/register
For those who will be at AGU, it will be run as a full session at the Marriott Hotel, Sierra Room K. Stop by and watch the presentation on a big screen!
If you can't make it to the call and are interested in the presentation, it will be archived on the PolarTREC website.
EVENT 1: Ice Core Science 101
PolarConnect Event with Heidi Roop and the Ice Core Drilling in West Antarctica 2010 Expedition
DATE: Thursday, 16 December 2010 TIME: 11:15 AM AST (12:15 PM PST, 1:15 PM MST, 2:15 PM CST, 3:15 PM EST) Note: We will be broadcasting this event live from the San Francisco Marriott, Sierra Room K at the American Geophysical Union Meeting in San Francisco, California.
EVENT 2: Life on an Ice Sheet- what is it like to live in the deep field in Antarctica?
PolarConnect Event with Heidi Roop and the Ice Core Drilling in West Antarctica 2010 Expedition
DATE: Friday, 7 January 2011 TIME: 9:00 AM AST (10:00 AM PST, 11:00 AM MST, 12:00 PM CST, 1:00 PM EST)
EVENT 3: Reaching Our Icy Goals: a summary of the last main drill season at WAIS Divide
PolarConnect Event with Heidi Roop and the Ice Core Drilling in West Antarctica 2010 Expedition
DATE: Friday, 21 January 2011 TIME: 9:00 AM AST (10:00 AM PST, 11:00 AM MST, 12:00 PM CST, 1:00 PM EST)
Intermediate Drill Science Requirements
The IDPO Science Advisory Board identified in the IDPO Long Range Science Plan a priority need to acquire an intermediate-depth drill for the U.S. ice coring program that is sufficiently portable that it can be used for coring at a wide variety of sites with production drilling in two field seasons or less, and be able to retrieve core from depths of interest for a variety of science goals. From discussions with the research community and discussions with IDDO staff, IDPO proposes the attached science requirements for community comment or agreement.
Please look over the attached, and let us know whether you are in agreement with these requirements, and/or have any comments.
The draft science requirements can also be downloaded at:
https://icedrill.org/scientists/scientists.shtml#scienceplan
Please send an email with your comments to IceDrill@Dartmouth.edu. Comments received before Dec 22 will be most helpful, but we welcome comments at any time.
We are planning to have IDDO produce a plan for drill development and cost that will be ready by mid-spring.
Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions - AGU Town Hall
Colleagues,
Does your science require ice cores, access holes through glaciers / ice sheets, or ocean sediment cores? Everyone is invited to come to the AGU San Francisco Town Hall meeting to hear interdisciplinary planning updates and to learn how to get involved in science planning for future endeavors:
Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions
Wednesday Dec 15, 2010 at 12:30-1:30
Moscone 3005
Ice sheets and ocean sediments hold important evidence on past cryosphere-ocean-atmosphere systems that are key to understanding current climate change. The need for national and international collaboration on both the science and logistics for scientific drilling in these remote regions requires strategic coordination between science, technology, and logistics, along with proposal pressure from the research community. This town hall 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.
See you there!
Mary
Mary R. Albert, Ph.D.
Professor of Engineering
Executive Director, Ice Drilling Program Office
Thayer School of Engineering
8000 Cummings Hall
Dartmouth
Hanover, N.H. 03755
tel: 603-646-0277
email: mary.r.albert@dartmouth.edu
2010 Fall Quarterly Update of IDPO and IDDO Activities Now Available
The Ice Drilling Program Office (IDPO) announces that the 2010 fall quarterly update of IDPO and Ice Drilling Design and Operations (IDDO) activities is available at:
https://icedrill.org/icebits
Topics include:
- IDPO and ANDRILL Town Hall Meeting at AGU
- National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Outreach
- Field Support to Antarctic Projects
- Replicate Coring System
- Intermediate Drill
- Requesting Ice Drilling Support
To download the newsletter, please go to:
https://icedrill.org/icebits
2010 Fall AGU Town Hall Meeting - Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions
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/).
2010 Summer Quarterly Update of IDPO and IDDO Activities Now Available
The Ice Drilling Program Office (IDPO) announces that the 2010 summer quarterly update of IDPO and Ice Drilling Design and Operations (IDDO) activities is available at:
https://icedrill.org/icebits
Topics include:
- Long Range Integrated Planning
- Planning Improvements to Agile Drilling
- Planning for New Capability
- Drilling Shallow Cores
- WAIS Divide Deep Ice Core
- Requesting Ice Drilling Support
To download the newsletter, please go to:
https://icedrill.org/icebits
Draft Long Range Science Plan: Request for Input
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 website (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.
2010 Spring Quarterly Update of IDPO and IDDO Activities Now Available
The Ice Drilling Program Office (IDPO) announces that the 2010 spring quarterly update of IDPO and Ice Drilling Design and Operations (IDDO) activities is available at:
https://icedrill.org/icebits
Topics include:
- Draft Long Range Science Plan
- Update of Field Drilling Support (January - March 2010)
- Development Highlights (January - March 2010)
- Requesting Ice Drilling Support
To download the newsletter, please go to:
https://icedrill.org/icebits
Ice Drilling/Coring Support for NSF Antarctic Research Solicitation
News from the Ice Drilling Program Office:
The NSF Antarctic Research (Solicitation 10-543) proposal deadline is May 25, 2010.
As a reminder, if your proposal requires any kind of ice drilling or ice coring support from the IDPO/Ice Drilling Design and Operations (IDDO) you need to download the Field Project Requirement Form (www.icedrill.org/scientists/scientists.shtml) and submit it to IDPO/IDDO via icedrill@dartmouth.edu no later than April 13, 2010.
Once the IDPO/IDDO receives your Field Project Requirement Form we will provide you with a cost estimate and a letter of support that MUST be included with your NSF proposal. You should also notify your relevant NSF Program Manager that your proposal requires support from the IDPO/IDDO.
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NSF Antarctic Research Solicitation:
http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=5519&ods_key=nsf10543
Field Project Requirement Form:
www.icedrill.org/scientists/scientists.shtml
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