Intermediate depth ice core drilling support systems : power generators and shelters

Arctic and high altitude ice coring operations require lightweight and efficient equipment. Power sources. fuel and shelter in some cases compose up to 50'J6 of the cargo delivered to a drill ing ite. Solar panel , twotroke gasoline and air-cooled portable diesel generato rs have been u ed in Arctic a.nd high a lt itude glacier to power the drilling etup. On the ummit of Mt. Ki limanjaro (589S m above ea level) a portable a ir cooled diesel generator provided I kW of electricity fo r electro-mechanical dri lling. The average fuel con umption was 0.66 liters of fuel per hour. Mo re than I SO m of ice cores in three locations were drilled with th i power source. For ISO m ha llow ice coring a diesel generator and fuel was found to be 40% of the weight than I.S kW array of solar panels. Assembly and disassembly of diesel generator takes one tenth of the time neces ary to as emble/ disa semble the array of o lar panels. However. solar power is environmentally friendly. The purpose of the shelter is to protect personnel and equipment from the wind and blowing now. At high altitude d rill ing sites the shelter provides a shadow to keep the drill and an ice core at temperatures below freezing. A set of lightweight helters allowed flexible and weather independent ice coring operation in the Arct ic and high a ltitude glaciers. Custom-built and commercially avai lable lightweight geodesic domes have a 12 manj h etup time and provide comfortable working condit ions during stormy day in Greenland and on the summit of Mt. Kilimanja ro. An additional reflective cover maintains the air temperature inside of the dome below the freezing point at 12001300 W / m2 solar radiation. A portable. fast setup and commercially available helter fo r the power generato r was tested and demon trated durableness during tormy day in