A new 122 mm electromechanical drill for deep ice-sheet coring (DISC): 5. Experience during Greenland field testing

Abstract

The Deep Ice Sheet Coring (DISC) drill developed by Ice Coring and Drilling Services under contract with the US National Science Foundation is an electromechanical ice-drill system designed to take 122 mm ice cores to depths of 4000 m. The new drill system was field-tested near Summit camp in central Greenland during the spring/summer of 2006. Testing was conducted to verify the performance of the DISC drill system and its individual components and to determine the modifications required prior to the system's planned deployment for coring at the WAIS Divide site in Antarctica in the following year. The experiments, results and the drill crew's experiences with the DISC drill during testing are described and discussed.