25 July 2008

The big snow removing day - and Laki found for the third time this year!

Removing snow

Snow moving in the trenches.

Today the trenches have reached the stage were new digging projects start. In the science trench the drift at the closed inclined entrance is moved - unfortunately removing the cute penguin cut the day before by Valerie. In the drill trench the ambitious 8m deep trench for the deep drill is initiated and the first 3m are made by a very hard working team. In addition blocks of snow are removed from the wall where the drill cabin is to be partly embedded. In the science trench the very distinguished volcanic eruption Laki (Iceland 1785 AD) is found by ECM in S1 and S2.

Happy faces when Laki shows up in the ECM

S2 (Mainly used for the European Gas Programs)
Gas pumped at the depths 72.0m and 74.0m
Processed ice core to bag 127 (depth: 69.85m)

S3 (Mainly used for US Gas Programs)
Gas pumped at the depth 75.0m for MPI
No ice core processed

S1 (NEEM main core)
Processed ice core to bag 157 (depth: 76.35m)

What we have done today:

  1. Started to dig the inclined drill trench. Depth 3m
  2. Started removing snow on the side of the drill trench where drill cabin is to be
  3. Moved snow drift in science trench
  4. Made insulation box on cooks snowmelter
  5. Moved between garage and started change of matrax on the Toyota.
  6. Maintainence on main generator
  7. Exchanged Mase generator with SDMO generator at firn-gas site due to power problems with the Mase
  8. Cut 2.5 cm water isotope samples and measured ECM on S1 and S2 ice cores.
  9. Firn-gas pumping program successfully continued
  10. The traverse left NGRIP and made 101 km and stayed overnight at waypoint 20. The velocity of the traverse with the uploaded sledges was still 12 km/h. Lars spent most of the day on the snow mobil measuring the GPS points on the route. They plan to reach NEEM Monday 28 July.
  11. Made small cage for seismometer in the science trench

Ad 8: The depth of Laki in the various NEEM shallow ice cores: 2007 core: 69.2m, 2008 S1 NEEM main core: 69.7m; 2008 S2: 70.2m and 2008 S3: 70.6m

Weather: overcast, -7 - 14 C, wind 14-18 kn from SW, visibility changeable

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