Drilling reaches 1000 m depth

1000 m celebration in the drill trench.

Celebration! Today at around dinnertime the NEEM deep drilling reached a depth of 1000.07 m (driller’s depth). Over the last couple of weeks the two drill teams consisting of JiWoong (S. Korea), Olivier (France), Mads (Denmark), Frank (Germany), Alex (New Zealand), Fernando (Ecuador/Germany) and Phillipe (France/Italy) have kept the drill busy 16h a day and performed a high speed drilling of more than 200 m/week. Reaching this depth is very good news for our project as it means that most likely 1) we will get below the brittle-zone this year, 2) there will be processing of the stable ice below the brittle-zone, and 3) with a little luck we will pass the transition into the last glacial period that is expected at around 1400 m depth. This is all assuming that the drilling continues without major problems, which can never be taken for granted.

What we have done today:

1. Drilling with the NEEM long drill: 24.07 m. Drillers depth: 1000.07 m.
2. Logging brittle zone ice. Final depth: 670.45 m.
3. No ice core processing today. Brittle zone has been reached.
4. CFA analysis: 17.60 m. Depth: 319.55 m.
5. Grooming skyway with beam
6. Starting assembling shallow drill
7. Extended platform in front of core buffer to reach higher.
8. Celebrated 1000 m drill depth and Tim Burtons 50 years birthday.

Ad.1: Drillers Report July 7: ‘A good drilling day in the trench with 34.24 m of core recovered finishing at a depth of 976 metres. Olivier and Fernando’s favourite machine the chips spinner had a close call, but Jeppe stepped in at the eleventh hour, refitted some missing parts and now it is as “good as new”; well at least until next time!’

Weather: Mostly overcast and temperatures between -1 and -4°C. Wind 0-6 knots from alternating directions. Fog banks morning and evening; minor snow showers during the day.

FL, Anders Svensson