Antarctic subglacial drilling rig: Part II. Ice and Bedrock Electromechanical Drill (IBED). Issue 84 (11th April 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Talalay, Pavel; Li, Xingchen; Zhang, Nan; Fan, Xiaopeng; Sun, Youhong; Cao, Pinlu; Wang, Rusheng; Yang, Yang; Liu, Yongwen; Liu, Yunchen; Wu, Wei; Yang, Cheng; Hong, Jialin; Gong, Da; Zhang, Han; Li, Xiao; Chen, Yunwang; Liu, An; Li, Yazhou
• Is Part Of: Annals of glaciology. Volume 62:Issue 84(2021)
• Page Start: 12
• Page End: 22
• Publication Date: 2021-04-11
• Subjects: Glacier geology, -- ice coring, -- ice engineering, -- subglacial exploration geophysics; Glaciology -- Periodicals; 551.3105 qA613
• DOI: 10.1017/aog.2020.38
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0260-3055

Abstract

Abstract: A new, modified version of the cable-suspended Ice and Bedrock Electromechanical Drill (IBED) was designed for drilling in firn, ice, debris-rich ice and rock. The upper part of the drill is almost the same for all drill variants and comprises four sections: cable termination, a slip-ring section, an antitorque system and an electronic pressure chamber. The lower part of the IBED comprises an auger core barrel, reamers, a core barrel for ice/debris-ice drilling and a conventional geological single-tube core barrel or custom-made double-tube core barrel. First, the short and full-scale field versions of the IBED were tested at an outdoor testing stand and a testing facility with a 12.5 m-deep ice well. Then, in the 2018–2019 summer season, the IBED was tested in the field at a site ~12 km south of Zhongshan Station, East Antarctica, and a ~6 cm bedrock core was recovered from a 198 m-deep borehole. A total of 18 d was required to penetrate the ice sheet. The retrieved core samples of blue ice, basal ice and bedrock provided valuable information regarding the Earth's paleo-environment.