Daily reports from the NGRIP-camp - week 22 year 2001
Monday, May 28th
|
| Daily life |
| It is a wonderful day with no wind, blue sky, and temperatures between
-19 C and -30 C. The Camp needs a few things, for example bisquits and
chocolate for the afternoon break. A request is sent to Copenhagen, which
can be sent up with the next plane coming in two weeks.
|
| Science |
The cleaning of the bore hole continues. At the end of the day,
the depth is 2916 meters. There have not been any problems with the
drilling, even though a section has been passed with much glycol and
a larger bore hole diameter than usual.
The gas pumping projects are going well. The depths of both the japanese
and the european/american holes are now 25 meters, and the firn cores
are being logged. Firn is snow which has been compressed, but is not
yet ice. |
| Logistics |
| In the wonderful weather, snow is removed around the Main Dome.
The building is dome-shaped in order to avoid drifting snow
close to the building.
In the beginning of the season, there was a 2 meter deep and 4 meter wide
ditch around the dome. It is now smoothed out, so snow scooters and
sledges may be driven right to the entrance of the dome.
|
Tuesday, May 29th
|
| Daily life |
| Another beautiful day, although a bit cold. Temperatures are between -19C and -30C,
and there is an 8 knots wind from SE. |
| Science |
| The cleaning of the bore hole continues slowly. The depth at the end of the day is
2918.4 meters. One of the problems is that glycol freezes to the drill during the
cleaning and when the drill is pulled up. This happens because the temperature in the
bottom of the hole is around 20 C lower than the temperature at the surface and in the
upper part of the hole. When the drill comes to the surface, it must be heated in order
to melt the frozen glycol off, it takes 1-2 hours. |
| Logistics |
| In the cold and clear weather, moving of snow around Main Dome continues (see diary
from yesterday). The snow is moved with trackmaster, which has both heat and music.
There is also extra maintenance on the motor used to melt frozen glycol off the drill
(see above). |
Wednesday, May 30th
|
| Daily life |
| Again a clear and cold day with blue sky. |
| Science |
The bailer, which is used to clean the bore hole for glycol, had to be checked - a few screws
was replaced. The combined drilling/cleaning could then continue. Because of the problems with
glycol freezing on the drill, it was done very carefully and slowly - and the depth today is
the same as yesterday.
Drilling of firn cores continues parallel to the cleaning of the bore hole. The depths of
both the japanese and the european/american holes are now around 55 meters, and gas samples are
taken along with the drilling - this process was described in the diary from week 21. The firn
cores are logged, here the depth is around 35 meters. |
| Logistics |
| Moving snow away from the Main Dome is now finished. |
Thursday, May 31st
|
| Daily life |
| The weather is cold and clear with temperatures between -21 C and - 30 C. Even
though it is cold, it is perfect for all activities in camp. |
| Science |
Cleaning of the bore hole continues. After three bailing runs, which brought up
around 180 kg of slush - mostly glycol, the bailer met an ice layer again in a depth
of 2920 meters. The ice drill was mounted, and at reporting time, the depth was 2924 meters,
and the drill was about to be pulled up.
At the surface, several other projects are going on. The shallow drilling of holes
for measuring air exchange in the firn (gas samples) continues, and reaches 10 meter lower than
yesterday. Dust samples are taken in a pit. |
| Logistics |
| The Kaessbohrers needs maintenance. The Kaessbohrers are large vehicles with
caterpillar wheels, and they are for example used to prepare the runway. |
Friday, June 1st
|
| Daily life |
|
Today, the weather has been a little warmer than the previous days.
With temperatures between -17 C and -25 C, blue sky, and a weak wind from south,
it has been a fine day for outdoor working. |
| Science |
The bore hole is still being cleaned for glycol by alternating runs with the drill and the bailer (a container used to remove fluid from the hole - see description in week 21). The fluid in the hole is a mixture of glycol,
drill fluid, and ice. Each run brings more glycol up to the surface, but
the whole process has to be done very carefully. Todays depth is 2926.50 meter.
The depth of the two shallow cores for gas samples are now around 75 meters. In the dust pit, some samples are taken for dust analyses.
|
| Logistics |
| The Kaessbohrer has been serviced. After more than a week, the runway needs to be maintained. The surface is prepared by driving with heavy vehicles, which compresses the ice and hardens the surface. |
Saturday, June 2nd
|
| Daily life |
| During the night, a front has passed from south. It means higher temperatures, but also drifting snow, and sometimes only 50 meters visibility. All traffic at the surface is reduced to a minimum. The cook prepares the saturday night dinner, and from 5 p.m. it is weekend.
|
| Science |
| Some parts on the equipment had to be replaced, and at 4 p.m. the bore hole cleaning could start again. The work continued until 8 p.m. and the drilling team could join the camp dinner. |
| Logistics |
| The drifting snow closes the entrance to the drill trench. A plywood sheet covers the entrance, but drifting snow makes it difficult to open and close.
Therefore, a door is mounted at the entrance.
|
Sunday, June 3rd
|
| Daily life |
| After yesterday's front passage, the weather is stable again.
Temperatures are between -19 C and -25 C, and there is a thin
cloud cover. Sunday morning starts later than other days. During
morning, work has started again, most work is removing snow
from yesterday's storm. |
| Science |
|
The cleaning of the bore hole continues. It has now reached the
depth, where the bailer was stucked last year, so the
drillers are very careful, and the cleaning progresses only slowly. |
| Logistics |
| Preparing runway is finished for now. Snow is removed from
the entrances to the drill trench, from the cook's freezer, and from
the dust pit. |
Continue to Week 23
|
