🧐What's an ice core? How do we drill ice in🇦🇶? Why & how do we study them? What can ice tell us about climate?

DEEPICE students answer all these questions in our 3mn-videos designed as an educational resource for high school students, teachers & general public #ClimateEducation

Beyond EPICA Science Meeting 2024!

Three days full of scientific updates, debate about results of the project and planning of the next steps for BEOI.

Thanks to all participants for this engaging and successful edition🧊

Carlo Barbante CNR ISP ItaliAntartide Unive Ca' Foscari

Processing operations have been completed for this season. The team finished loading the sledge for the traverse to Concordia and prepared the camp for winter, while continuing to drill in shift down to 1795.44 m.

Westhoff, PNRA/IPEV

Work continues at LDC: the team is trying to make the most of the time left in the field camp.

We broke the 1700 meters record and processing operations continue.

Drillers depth: 1708.44 m
Processed ice core: + 33 m

📸Gay, Alemany, PNRA/IPEV

Our team was still able to extract 31 m of ice despite having to face some other problems with the drill!
Processing added +16 m, which are now ready to be sent to Europe.
The first people have started to leave the camp and the cleaning and packing has begun.
📸Scoto©PRNA/IPEV

After re-anchoring the drill on the cable tonight we got back to drilling, but not before fixing some other minor issues.

Those not involved in drill reparation had the chance to visit our Australian neighbors for coffee and cookies Million Year Ice Core

📸antarctica.gov.au

A stop in drilling occurred today for some knots on the cable. It had to be unwound along the damaged 450 m, which were cut off, and it has to be re-anchored.

31 m of ice were processed and 19 core boxes were loaded for flying to MZS.

Drilling depth: 1626.82 m.
Scoto©PNRA/IPEV

Today the BEOI team broke another milestone: 1500 m of depth have been reached in LDC!

And 48 ice core boxes are now stored in Concordia, ready to be sent to Mario Zucchelli Station.
Excellent job!

Scoto, PNRA/IPEV

All is going well in Little Dome C.

The new set up of drill heads and cutters guarantees cores of 4 meters or more, and another 37 meters of cores have been processed and are ready to leave Antarctica.

Driller depth: 1484.80m

📸Scoto, PNRA/IPEV

Drilling continues at good pace: now the team is in the mid 1400s and the two new drillers, Rémi and Fortunat, completed their first runs! In order to dry off the extracted cores completely from drilling fluid, the team decided to let them rest for one more day.
📸Veale©PNRA/IPEV

It seems today our equipment decided to stay in the 'holiday mood' a little longer.
The saw and the drill have given the team some minor problems: nothing serious, but work has been a little slower today.

Driller's depth: 1379.16 m
Processing: + 25 m

📸Westhoff, PNRA/IPEV

Today shifts ended at 1 PM: New Year's Eve celebrations at Concordia are waiting for our team.

Drilling advanced 21 m and processing added another 26 m of ice. A second flight of ice core boxes to MZS was also organized today.

📸Koldthof©PRNA/IPEV

Today the first flight with the precious BEOI ice core boxes (at -20°C) left Concordia to reach Mario Zucchelli.

Meanwhile, in LDC even some problems with the drill motors couldn't stop the operations: new drillers depth is set at 1338.18 m.

Fasani, PNRA/IPEV

Drilling is back at its cruising speed with 4+ m runs: 31 m were added today, while ice core processing has caught up with drilling.
Today the 🇰🇷Korean traverse paid a visit to LDC, while tomorrow the first ice core boxes of the year will fly fo MZS.
📸Dallmayr, Scoto©PRNA/IPEV

The LDC team today had to face some worries about the inclination of the drill: a quick shift to the 3m barrels and the corer was again correctly centered in the borehole.

Drilling continue with 1277 m.
Also the processing is going very fast: + 74 today!

Scoto, PNRA/IPEV

Drilling is running smoothly from 8:00 to 0:00: 30 m of ice were added today, reaching a depth of more than 1260 m. Core processing is going well too and at this rate they will caught up with the drilling by next week. The dual tube snow sampler was also tested.
📸Muhl©PRNA/IPEV