You are currently viewing July 3: Unplugging the borehole and visiting Site E
Anders and Chantal behind the fourth piece of fiberglass recovered from the borehole. This run was also the breakthrough through the blockage at 56m depth. We can now send the low-resolution camera 3 meters beyond the 56m-blockage.

July 3: Unplugging the borehole and visiting Site E

Deep drilling report: Today was a very successful drilling day! We managed to drill through the borehole blockage at 56m depth after many attempts with an 83mm hole saw. We have discovered another broken casing joint just below the blockage. Furthermore, we now have a loose blockage of fiberglass, O-rings, broken drill bits, and potentially other material, roughly 3m below the hard 56m-blockage. So far, the hole we have created in the 56m-blockage cannot fit the drill, but it is big enough for the small low-resolution camera. The lower blockage seems to be movable and we will push it further down tomorrow using all the extension pieces we have in camp for the auger.

 

Today, the ICELINK team went to Site E, about 100 km to the SE of GRIP, to drill another shallow ice core. The Basler departed camp at 2pm, went to the location, the team drilled an ice core to 32.23m depth and the plane was supposed to be back at GRIP at around midnight. However, somehow everything had just been running too smooth and finally the plane was unable to take off from the site. It was too warm (-6 degC), making the ice sticky, and there was no wind to help lifting the plane. Damn it, the shallow drill had to be left at the site, to make the plane lighter. At around 1am the Basler returned to GRIP with the passengers and the ice core. The drill will then have to be picked up later.

 

In camp, Tim is almost done with the winter hills, the mega trench sampling is ongoing, and a lot of surface cleaning and reorganisation took place: Balloons are being packed, sledges are being emptied, drums are being moved to the cargo line and Air Force pallets are dug out of the snow. All of this are indications of a camp that is slowly entering the final phase of the field season, preparing for winter storage and shipments of cargo out of camp.

 

What we did this Friday:

 

  1. Drillers are having success fighting the 56m casing plug
  2. Polar 6 visited Site E for 32.23m shallow drilling
  3. Almost finished building winter berms
  4. Cleaned up camp surface
  5. Continued Mega trench sampling

 

Ad.2: Site E drill pos: N 71.759108 W 35.848629 Elev: 3083 m

 

Weather: Calm and sunny day. Wind 0-4 kt from S, temp -20C to -6C.

 

FL, Anders Svensson

Sonja explaining the snow stratigraphy to the camp, during the celebration of the mega trench yesterday. Very visually we can follow the individual layers over the length of the full trench.