1. Home
  2. News

News

Winter 2016-17 Ice Bits Newsletter Now Available

The WINTER 2016-17 quarterly update of IDPO and IDDO activities is now available at:
https://icedrill.org/icebits

Topics include:
- Successful Deployment of IDDO's Two New Rock Coring Drills
- 2016-2017 Antarctic Field Season Wraps Up
- Equipment Development: Stampfli 2-Inch Drill, Rapid Air Movement (RAM) Drill, Sediment Laden Lake Ice Drill
- IDPO Involved in Multiple Education and Outreach Events: Education Outreach Event at Montshire Museum, School of Ice, Checking Out Your Team, New Education Outreach Website
- IDPO Hosts Successful Town Hall at AGU Fall Meeting
- Requesting Ice Drilling Support

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

April 11, 2017 DEADLINE: Requesting Ice Drilling Support for NSF Antarctic Research Opportunities (17-543) program solicitation

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Polar Programs has issued a new solicitation (17-543) for Antarctic research proposals. NSF's full proposal deadline is May 23, 2017.

* If your NSF proposal requires any kind of ice drilling, ice coring, or borehole logging support from the IDDO group at the University of Wisconsin, you must contact IceDrill@dartmouth.edu at least 6 weeks prior to the proposal deadline, in this case by April 11, 2017. *

IDPO/IDDO contact deadline: April 11, 2017
NSF full proposal deadline: May 23, 2017

For more information about requesting ice drilling support, visit:
http://www.icedrill.org/scientists/scientists.shtml

For information and ideas about partnering with the IDPO for broader impacts, please visit:
http://www.icedrill.org/scientists/outreach_support.shtml

For information about the 2017 Antarctic Research Opportunities (17-543) funding opportunity, visit:
https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=5519&ods_key=nsf17543

Ice Drilling Support for NSF Polar Proposals

The NSF Antarctic Science section will now accept proposals at any time for solicitation ANT 18-530, and the NSF Arctic section will accept proposals at any time for solicitation ARC 16-595. Scientists who are proposing research that will require ice coring or ice drilling, and associated education and outreach activities, should request field support from IDPO-IDDO by completing a Field Project Support Requirements form available at https://icedrill.org/scientists/scientists.shtml , and/or follow the directions regarding obtaining outreach support at https://icedrill.org/scientists/outreach_support.shtml . Scientists should send the information to Icedrill@Dartmouth.edu at least 3 weeks before the target date for submitting your NSF proposal.

IDPO-IDDO Field Project Support Requirements Form: https://icedrill.org/scientists/scientists.shtml

IDPO Outreach Support for Scientists:
https://icedrill.org/scientists/outreach_support.shtml

ANT 18-530 solicitation:
https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2018/nsf18530/nsf18530.htm

Frequently asked questions for ANT 18-530:
https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf18042

ARC 16-595 solicitation:
https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2016/nsf16595/nsf16595.htm

Science Planning Workshop: Research with the Rapid Access Ice Drill

MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

Science Planning Workshop: Research with the Rapid Access Ice Drill
March 2-3, 2017
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
La Jolla, California

Conveners:
John Goodge, University of Minnesota Duluth
Jeff Severinghaus, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

We invite you to participate in a science workshop to help shape future interdisciplinary research with the Rapid Access Ice Drill (RAID). Goals and initial planning for the workshop are outlined in this announcement. Please see the RAID website to register with an expression of interest.

Goals of the workshop: RAID is in Antarctica! Now is a good time to bring together the scientific community interested in using the RAID system for deep glacial and subglacial sampling, and for the boreholes it will create, including integrated ice drilling, ice and rock coring, borehole logging, and geophysical data acquisition. This workshop will provide a venue to bring scientists together to explore new science questions or approaches; define science goals; seek synergies between different disciplines for RAID; and develop a coherent community science plan for use of this unique drilling system. The workshop will be a great opportunity to bring together researchers with scientific interests in ice-sheet dynamics, paleoclimate, borehole logging, the ice-sheet interface, exposure and uplift histories, subglacial bedrock geology, subglacial sediments, microbiology, heat flow, potential-field geophysics, seismology, geodetics, and ice-penetrating radar.

When: Thursday and Friday, March 2-3, 2017. This will be a 2-day meeting, convened from 0800-1800 each day. Participants are encouraged to arrive in San Diego on March 1 and depart either the evening of the 3rd or over the following weekend. Please check the RAID website (http://www.rapidaccessicedrill.org/) or contact one of the conveners for information.

Where: Scripps Institution of Oceanography and University of California San Diego in La Jolla.

Who: The workshop is open to all scientists interested in using or contributing to the science enabled by RAID. Please pass this announcement on to anyone who might be interested. Please help us reach young investigators and under-represented groups by sharing this announcement and suggesting to us the names of people we can contact.

Cost: There will be no meeting registration cost. Breakfast and lunch meals will be provided. NSF is funding the workshop in order to provide partial travel to some US participants for travel and accommodation. Preference will be given to young and under-represented investigators.

Responses: Interested participants should complete an electronic reply on the RAID website (www.rapidaccessicedrill.org) to provide an Expression of Scientific Interest so that we can plan for the number of attendees and workshop agenda.

Contact information:
Jeff Severinghaus
jseveringhaus@ucsd.edu
Tomomi Ushii
tomomi@ucsd.edu
John Goodge
jgoodge@d.umn.edu

Additional Information: Visit the RAID WEBSITE or download the WORKSHOP BROCHURE.

IDDO POSITION VACANCY: FIELD SUPPORT MANAGER

The Ice Drilling Design and Operations (IDDO) unit seeks a motivated individual to work within a dynamic team that supports research in the Arctic and Antarctic. This position requires strong problem-solving skills, excellent customer service, understanding of mechanical and electrical systems and willingness to deploy to the Polar Regions for a duration of up to 3 months.

For more information, visit:
http://jobs.hr.wisc.edu/cw/en-us/job/493526/iddo-field-support-manager

Fall 2016 Ice Bits Newsletter Now Available

The FALL 2016 quarterly update of IDPO and IDDO activities is now available at:
https://icedrill.org/icebits

Topics include:
- IDDO Equipment On Its Way to Antarctica for 2016-2017 Field Season
- Field Support to Antarctic 2016-2017 Projects
- Equipment Development: Agile Sub-Ice Geological Drill, Winkie Drill, Rapid Air Movement Drill, MAgIC Drill/Intermediate Depth Drill-Light, Foro Drill, Deep Ice Sheet Coring Drill
- Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions AGU Town Hall Meeting
- Call for Nominations: Science Advisory Board to the U.S. Ice Drilling Program Office
- 2016 Technical Advisory Board Meeting
- Education and Outreach
- Requesting Ice Drilling Support
- Field Support to Science Projects

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

Call for Nominations: Science Advisory Board to the U.S. Ice Drilling Program Office

To: U.S. Ice Drilling Community
From: U.S. Ice Drilling Program Office
Subject: Call for Nominations: Science Advisory Board to the U.S. Ice Drilling Program Office
Deadline: November 15, 2016

The Science Advisory Board (SAB) to the U.S. Ice Drilling Program Office invites nominations and expressions of interest from the scientific community to fill two open positions on the SAB. The SAB invites nominations and expressions of interest from all specialties but is particularly interested in maintaining expertise in geophysics and sub glacial processes. The primary purpose of the SAB ( http://icedrill.org/about/sab.shtml ) is to maintain a long range science plan for US ice drilling activities that that addresses multiple aspects of ice and related science and associated technology, and informs investments in drilling and related infrastructure. SAB members typically serve for three years, attend the annual SAB meeting, and collaborate remotely as needed. Three SAB working groups, which include some SAB members and other members of the scientific community, provide input to SAB activities. For more information about the SAB please contact the current chair, Ed Brook (brooke@geo.oregonstate.edu).

* Please send nominations and expressions of interest to Icedrill@Dartmouth.edu by November 15, 2016. *

Fall AGU Town Hall Meeting: Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions

Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions AGU Town Hall Meeting

Date: Tuesday, 13 December 2016
Time: 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Place: Moscone West, 2005

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program Office (IDPO) is once again organizing a Town Hall meeting at the Fall AGU Meeting entitled 'TH010: Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions'. Ice sheets, glaciers, and the underlying bedrock, sediment and permafrost hold crucial evidence of past climate, ice sheet extent, 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 IDPO-IDDO, IPICS, IPA, RAID, and WISSARD drilling initiatives. Opportunities for community involvement will be showcased, and input from the audience will be solicited.

AGU meeting website for more information:
https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm16/meetingapp.cgi/Session/14227

For further information, please contact
Mary Albert (Mary.R.Albert at dartmouth.edu)

Summer 2016 Ice Bits Newsletter Now Available

The SUMMER 2016 quarterly update of IDPO and IDDO activities is now available at:
https://icedrill.org/icebits

Topics include:
- Winkie Drill System Tested at IDDO Warehouse
- IDPO Hosts Successful Subglacial Access Science Community Planning Workshop in Herndon, VA
- GreenTrACS Successfully Uses IDDO Hand Auger and Sidewinder to Collect Shallow Ice Cores
- Equipment Development (Agile Sub-Ice Geological Drill, Winkie Drill, Rapid Air Movement Drill, MAgIC Drill/Intermediate Depth Drill-Light, Foro Drill, Deep Ice Sheet Coring Drill)
- Long Range Science and Long Range Drilling Technology Plans Updated
- IDPO Involved in Multiple Education and Outreach Events
- IDDO Field Support Manager Vacancy
- Requesting Ice Drilling Support

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

RAID science workshop - Early 2017 (tentative), Scripps Institution of Oceanography La Jolla, California

MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

Science Workshop for Research with the Rapid Access Ice Drill
Early 2017 (tentative)
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
La Jolla, California

Conveners:
John Goodge, University of Minnesota Duluth
Jeff Severinghaus, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

We invite you to participate in a science workshop to help shape future interdisciplinary research with the Rapid Access Ice Drill (RAID). Goals and initial planning for the workshop are outlined in this announcement. We will be sending out additional information in the near future. In meantime, please save the date on your calendars!

Goals of the workshop: RAID is in Antarctica! Now is a good time to bring together the scientific community interested in using the RAID system for deep glacial and subglacial sampling, and for the boreholes it will create, including integrated ice drilling, ice and rock coring, borehole logging, and geophysical data acquisition. This workshop will provide a venue to bring scientists together to explore new science questions or approaches; define science goals; seek synergies between different disciplines for RAID; and develop a coherent community science plan for use of this unique drilling system. The workshop will be a great opportunity to bring together researchers with scientific interests in ice-sheet dynamics, paleoclimate, borehole logging, the ice-sheet interface, exposure and uplift histories, subglacial bedrock geology, subglacial sediments, microbiology, heat flow, potential-field geophysics, seismology, geodetics, and ice-penetrating radar.

When: Originally scheduled for September 2016, we are postponing the workshop to early 2017. Please check the RAID website (http://www.rapidaccessicedrill.org/) or contact one of the conveners for information.

Where: Scripps Institution of Oceanography and University of California San Diego in La Jolla. The meeting venue will be on the SIO campus. Accommodations will be made available at hotels near the SIO campus.

Who: The workshop is open to all scientists interested in using or contributing to the science enabled by RAID. Please pass this information on to anyone who might be interested.

Cost: There will be no meeting registration cost. We anticipate being able to provide partial travel support to US participants for travel and accommodation. Breakfast and lunch meals will be provided.

Travel information: Participants will make their own travel arrangements to San Diego. Hotel rooms will be reserved on a first-come, first-serve basis as they are available. Reimbursements for airfare and hotel will be made through Scripps. Participants are responsible for all other travel costs (food not provided, ground transportation, parking, etc.).

Responses: Interested participants should provide an expression of scientific interest by filling out a short form so that we can plan for the number of attendees and workshop agenda. Click the button below to get started.

Contact information:
Jeff Severinghaus
jseveringhaus@ucsd.edu
Tomomi Ushii
tomomi@ucsd.edu
John Goodge
jgoodge@d.umn.edu
Karen Marshall
karendmarshall@att.net

What is RAID? The Rapid Access Ice Drill is a mobile system capable of rapidly drilling deep boreholes in the Antarctic ice sheets and retrieving cores of deep ice, the glacial bed, and bedrock below. It will provide a critical first look at the interface between major ice caps and subglacial features over a wide area. RAID is designed to enable interdisciplinary research, including direct observation at the base of the modern ice sheets, access to polar paleoclimate records in ice >1 Ma, and recovery of billion-year rock cores from ice-covered East Antarctica, among many other multidisciplinary topics of interest that RAID can address. Because of its traversing capability, RAID can quickly make deep boreholes that will remain open for future down-hole observation. The RAID system was designed and optimized for drilling and coring in dry, frozen-bed conditions as will be encountered in the thick East Antarctic ice sheet. The initial operating region for RAID will be in the vicinity of and radiating from South Pole station toward the ice sheet interior.

What can RAID do? With an ice-cutting rate of up to 3 m/min, RAID is capable of making rapid boreholes in thick ice followed by coring in ice, the glacial bed, and subglacial bedrock. Example drilling targets include:

  • ice borehole: laser/optical logging to determine age of ice; acoustic log of deformation
  • short ice cores: reconnaissance sampling of 'old' ice (>1 Ma?)
  • glacial bed: ice flow conditions, basal material, microorganisms
  • short rock cores: samples for age dating, composition, surface exposure ages, crustal and uplift history, validation of potential-field characteristics
  • rock borehole instrumentation: heat flow, seismology, geodetics

 

RAID status: RAID is currently on the ice. Recent developments include:

  • design completed in late 2013
  • construction and outfitting of modules began in Utah in mid-2014
  • construction of cryogenic ice-drilling facility in Utah in early 2015
  • North American test of key components and drilling rates completed in March 2015
  • fabrication and construction of all major sub-systems in Utah in 2015
  • completion of integration and validation in October 2015
  • commissioned in early November 2015
  • shipment to Antarctica complete in January 2016
  • rig currently in storage in McMurdo
  • Antarctic Field Trials planned for December 2016 near McMurdo Station

 

Please plan to attend the RAID science workshop this fall! We look forward to seeing a wide range of participants.