Projects per year
Abstract
While hot-water drilling is a well-established technique used to access the subsurface of ice masses, drilling into high-elevation (> ~4000 m a.s.l.) debris-covered glaciers faces specific challenges. First, restricted transport capacity limits individual equipment items to a volume and mass that can be slung by small helicopters. Second, low atmospheric oxygen and pressure reduces the effectiveness of combustion, limiting a system’s ability to pump and heat water. Third, thick supraglacial debris, which is both highly uneven and unstable, inhibits direct access to the ice surface, hinders the manoeuvring of equipment, and limits secure sites for equipment placement. Fourth, englacial debris can slow the drilling rate such that continued drilling becomes impracticable and/or boreholes deviate substantially from vertical. Because of these challenges, field-based englacial and subglacial data required to calibrate numerical models of high-elevation debris-covered glaciers are scarce or absent. Here, we summarise our experiences of hot-water drilling over two field seasons (2017–2018) at the debris-covered Khumbu Glacier, Nepal, where we melted 27 boreholes up to 192 m length, at elevations between 4900 and 5200 m a.s.l.. We describe the drilling equipment and operation, evaluate the effectiveness of our approach, and suggest equipment and methodological adaptations for future use.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 822-832 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Journal of Glaciology |
Volume | 65 |
Issue number | 253 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 01 Oct 2019 |
Keywords
- debris-covered glaciers
- glacier monitoring
- glaciological instruments and methods
- Debris-covered glaciers
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Instruments and Methods: hot-water borehole drilling at a high-elevation debris-covered glacier'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Datasets
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Ice tilt time-series from sensors installed in boreholes drilled into Khumbu Glacier, Nepal, in 2017 and 2018 as part of EverDrill research project - VERSION 2.0
Hubbard, B., Miles, K., Doyle, S., Quincey, D. J. & Miles, E. S., UK Polar Data Centre, 14 Jul 2021
DOI: 10.5285/FBEE7B3D-BF85-452A-B8C4-A83DCE4E14CE
Dataset
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Basal probe time-series from sensors installed at the base of boreholes drilled into Khumbu Glacier, Nepal, in 2017 and 2018 as part of EverDrill research project - VERSION 2.0
Hubbard, B., Miles, K., Doyle, S., Quincey, D. J. & Miles, E. S., UK Polar Data Centre, 14 Jul 2021
DOI: 10.5285/EB1C141A-6313-43DD-A93C-86BCACD80203
Dataset
Projects
- 1 Finished
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Everdrill: Accessing the interior and bed of a Himalayan debris-covered glacier to forecast future mass loss
Hubbard, B. (PI), Quincey, D. J. (PI) & Rowan, A. V. (PI)
Natural Environment Research Council
01 Oct 2016 → 31 Aug 2019
Project: Externally funded research