News

Call for Nominations -- Technology Developments to Advance Antarctic Research

Seeking Experts: Technology Developments to Advance Antarctic Research

The Polar Research Board (of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine) seeks your input for convening a workshop planning committee. This committee will organize a forum to explore how technological innovation can: advance, facilitate, and transform Antarctic research and facilitate improvements to science support logistics; can increase the reach of scientific investigations in Antarctica while reducing the logistics and environmental footprint of these operations; and can facilitate broader, more diverse participation in Antarctic research. The workshop will address specific disciplinary sciences as well as cross-cutting themes such as: autonomous sensors and platforms, communications and connectivity, transportation and logistics, and energy sources and consumption, including low power and battery developments.

We invite your suggestions for people to serve on the workshop planning committee, including people with expertise in the following areas: sensors and observing systems for geophysical research (geological, atmospheric, cryospheric, oceanic), biological research, and for astronomy, astrophysics, and space weather research; data and communications technologies; low-temperature electronics and batteries/power systems for cold-weather environments; remote logistics support; and robotics and autonomous instrument engineering.

The National Academies are committed to enhancing diversity and inclusion in order to strengthen the quality of our work. Diverse perspectives contribute to finding innovative approaches and solutions to challenging issues. We encourage the nomination of volunteers who reflect the populations we serve and also welcome in particular nominations of candidates from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, women, and early- and mid-career professionals.

Submissions (including self-nominations) are welcome until September 15th.

Form to submit names: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6490084/Call-for-Nominations-Technology-Developments-to-Advance-Antarctic-Research-A-Workshop

DISC Drill - Request Regarding Community Interest

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program is planning use of its drills for the coming decade. If you intend to submit a proposal to the NSF that would require use of the DISC Drill, please send an email expressing your intent to Icedrill@Dartmouth.edu before August 15, 2021.

Additional information: Deep drilling at Hercules Dome will be conducted using the Foro 3000 Drill. A comparison of Foro 3000 Drill and DISC Drill capabilities and associated logistics requirements is available at https://icedrill.org/library/disc-drill-vs-foro-3000-drill-analysis (see Table 1, page 11).

Table 1. Comparison of DISC Drill and Foro 3000 Drill system parameters for a 2,800 m deep project

 

Thank you for contributing to future planning for the U.S. Ice Drilling Program!

2021 Long Range Science Plan and Long Range Drilling Technology Plan Now Available

The purpose of the plans is to articulate goals and make recommendations for the direction for U.S. ice coring and drilling science, and for the development of drilling technology, infrastructure and logistical support needed to enable the science.

Long Range Science Plan

Long Range Drilling Technology Plan

Spring 2021 Ice Bits Newsletter Now Available

The Spring 2021 quarterly update of U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP) activities is now available at:
https://icedrill.org/icebits/2021-spring

Topics include:

  • Beneficial Drill System Testing and Operator Training Conducted near Madison, WI
  • Science Advisory Board 2021 Meeting
  • Ice Core Working Group 2021 Meeting
  • Request for Community Input — DRAFT 2021 Long Range Science Plan
  • IDP Education and Public Outreach Update Spring 2021
  • U.S. Scientific Traverses on the Greenland Ice Sheet: a Planning Workshop
  • Acknowledgment of IDP in Publications
  • Ice Drilling Support for NSF Polar Proposals

To view the newsletter, please go to:
https://icedrill.org/icebits/2021-spring

Request for Community Input — DRAFT 2021 Long Range Science Plan

Each year in the spring, the Ice Drilling Program (IDP) works with its Science Advisory Board and the research community to update the Long Range Science Plan. This Plan identifies the science in the coming decade that will require the use of ice drilling technology and expertise for the community. This also drives the formation of other plans, for example, the Long Range Drilling Technology Plan. The plans provide the basis for multi‐annual planning for the actions and drill development projects of IDP and others, and the plans give the funding agencies advance notice of upcoming community science needs.

If you need an ice core or a hole drilled in a glacier or ice sheet in the coming decade or a rock core from under shallow glacial ice, please make sure that the high‐level articulation of your science is captured in the current draft update of the Long Range Science Plan!

Please read through the draft Long Range Science Plan and send corrections, updates, or additions to Icedrill@Dartmouth.edu ASAP or not later than June 12, 2021. When sending corrections/updates, please also reference the appropriate line number in the draft Long Range Science Plan where the correction/update is needed.

Submission deadline: June 12, 2021

To download the working draft, visit:
https://icedrill.org/long-range-science-plan

U.S. Scientific Traverses on the Greenland Ice Sheet: a Planning Workshop

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program and the Summit Science Coordination Office are co-sponsoring a U.S. science community planning workshop on June 11, 2021, to identify and articulate U.S. science community interests for long-term planning of potential scientific traverses on the Greenland Ice Sheet. The workshop is designed to identify the driving scientific questions that require access to interior areas of the Greenland Ice Sheet and would benefit from traverse approaches for the coming decade and beyond. The outcome from the workshop is a set of white papers that will help identify technological and logistical requirements that will be needed to support the science. There is no registration fee; however, registration is required. The registration deadline is June 6, 2021. For complete details, visit the workshop's webpage.

Winter 2020/21 Ice Bits Newsletter Now Available

The Winter 2020/21 quarterly update of U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP) activities is now available at:
https://icedrill.org/icebits/2020-winter

Topics include:

  • COVID-19 Pandemic Postpones Fieldwork but Allows for Beneficial Development, Maintenance and Upgrade Work
  • 700 Drill
  • Innovative Virtual Field Labs Offer New Participatory Experiences for Online Learning
  • School of Ice 2021
  • IDP Science Advisory Board Meeting March 18-19, 2021 and Call for Input into the Long Range Science Plan
  • Early Career Travel Grant Opportunity for the 2021 IPICS & ICYS meeting
  • Hercules Dome Ice Core Project: Community Workshop and Webinar Events
  • ICYS International Ice Core Seminar Series
  • Acknowledgment of IDP in Publications
  • Ice Drilling Support for NSF Polar Proposals

To view the newsletter, please go to:
https://icedrill.org/icebits/2020-winter

Ice Core Working Group 2021 Virtual Meeting

The Ice Core Working Group (ICWG) is holding its annual meeting on Monday, March 8, from 11 AM to 4 PM EST. The meeting is open to everyone. If you would like to attend the Zoom meeting, please contact T.J. Fudge (tjfudge@uw.edu) to get the link. The agenda can be found at https://icedrill.org/meetings/ice-core-working-group-2021-virtual-meeting.

Currently, the ICWG has 30 minutes planned for updates on projects that potentially involve many members of the U.S. ice coring community (i.e., Hercules Dome or Mt. Waddington ice core drilling projects). If you would like to give a very brief update, please email T.J. Fudge (tjfudge@uw.edu). If you are unable to attend but still would like to provide an update, please either send a prepared slide and text to T.J. or ask one of the ICWG members to give the update on your behalf.

T.J. Fudge, University of Washington
Becky Alexander, University of Washington
Christine Foreman, University of Montana
Andrei Kurbatov, University of Maine
Jeff Severinghaus, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Vas Petrenko, University of Rochester
Summer Rupper, The University of Utah

AGU Town Hall: Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP) will hold the AGU Town Hall on Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions on Wednesday, 16 December 2020, from 16:00-17:00 PACIFIC (19:00-20:00 EASTERN).

Abstract: Ice sheets, glaciers, and the underlying bedrock, sediment and permafrost hold crucial evidence of past climate, 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 updates on IDP, IPICS, and other drilling initiatives. Opportunities for community involvement will be showcased, and input from the audience will be solicited.

Date: Wednesday, 16 December 2020
Time: 16:00-17:00 PACIFIC (19:00-20:00 EASTERN)
AGU meeting website: https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm20/meetingapp.cgi/Session/102717

Fall 2020 Ice Bits Newsletter Now Available

The Fall 2020 quarterly update of U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP) activities is now available at:
https://icedrill.org/icebits/2020-fall

Topics include:

  • AGU Town Hall: Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions
  • Early Career Travel Grant Opportunity for the 2021 IPICS & ICYS meeting
  • Ice Drilling Support for NSF Polar Proposals

To view the newsletter, please go to:
https://icedrill.org/icebits/2020-fall