May 9, 2023

First core of 2023!

Iben and Grant tilting the tower in order to bring the drill to a horizontal position to ease extraction of the first core of the 2023 season.

A big day here at EGRIP, where the drillers: Emma, Grant, Iben, Nicholas and Romain managed to drill the first ice core of this season: A full length (3.46m) ice core in perfect condition, and without any breaks! What a treat, especially for the loggers: Nico and Bo, with assistance from Iben. A perfect fit with the last piece of core from the 2022 season, so the logging was a quick and smooth operation. As the core was drilled and logged right before dinner, we celebrated the occasion with a slightly chilled white port as an aperitif right before Jeppe treated us to yet another delicious dinner here at EGRIP.
On the surface, Sverrir worked on getting the apron hardened next to the fuel tanks and getting the third Pistenbully operational, while Sepp identifies and gathers retro-cargo for next week’s flight. Anna-Maria and Bo manged to furnish the last Weatherport, while Bruno continues the enormous task of organizing cables in the Cupola of the dome.

What we did today:

1. Drilled first ice core of the 2023 season.
2. Logged first ice core of the season, logged length 3.46m.
3. Preparing hardened area on apron.
4. Working on getting the third Pistenbully operational.
5. Furnished last Weatherport.
6. Worked on organizing IT and electrical cables in Cuupola.
7. Started identifying retro-cargo for next week’s flight.

Weather today: Sunny. Temp. -31°C to -18°C. Wind: Decreasing from 16 kt in the morning to just 3 kt during the afternoon and turning from SW to WSW. Visibility: Unrestricted.

FL, Bo M. Vinther

The first core peaking out of the drill with Iben in the background and Emma in front inspecting the wooden support for the drill.