Pebbles from below
Small rocks from below the ice cap that detached from today’s core. The largest pebble is 2 cm wide.
We had high winds all day and could not do much outdoor work. All ramps are filled in, snow dunes next to constructions are now several meters high, and it has been snowing most of the day.
Drilling proceeded and an interesting 67 cm core was recovered that contains a much higher fraction of course grained material than previous cores (see pictures). The pebbles / small rocks are up to a few centimeters across and they are mostly embedded in stratified ice and mud layers.
The last extension rod is now mounted on the drill and there is still 1 m to go until the drill cannot penetrate any deeper.
What we have done today:
1. Drilling 67 cm sediment core. Total core length: 6.3 m
2. NEGIS: All is well, except weather is now similar to NEEM: snow, wind, drift,
warm temperatures
3. Moving equipment into garage on new hill
4. Removing main lamps in science trench. Temporary lighting installed
Weather: Overcast, snow showers, and snow drift. Wind 18-30 knots from SW, decreasing trend during daytime, but increasing again at night.Temp. -4°C to -7°C.
Close-up of today’s core containing ‘rocks’ and stratified material.
The rock drill extension is now so long that the last rod has to be mounted with the drill in vertical position. An unusual operation that needs to be carried out at the bottom of the inclined drill trench. There is a high risk of drill liquid showers.
The Pisten Bully is slowly disappearing in the drift snow.
FL, Anders Svensson