Little America V | NSF Ice Core Facility

General Information

A 255 meter long, 9.8 cm diameter, core drilled near the front of the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica, during the International Geophysical Year. The core was dry drilled with a Failing rotary well-drilling rig to 249 m. The hole was then filled with diesel fuel for pressure balance and drilling continued. Drilling stopped on 5 December 1958 at 255 m, 2 or 3 m above the base of the ice, when sea water entered the hole and rose to 188 m. The archive at NSF-ICF is not continuous.

Core(s) Available

Core Name	Core ID	Years Drilled	Lat/Long	Core Top (m)	Core Bottom (m)	Core Diameter (cm)	Site Elevation	Drilling Method	Drillers	Drilling Fluid	Original PI	PI Affiliation	De-accessed
LITTLE AMERICA V	LA 5	1958	-78.1666667, -162.2166667	6.70	254.74	9.80	43	Failing rotary well-drilling rig	SIPRE	Dry drilled to 249 m. Diesel fuel to 255 m.	Tony Gow	SIPRE/CRREL	No

Publications

Bentley CR and Koci BR (2007) Drilling to the beds of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets: a review. Annals of Glaciology, 47, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3189/172756407786857695
Lange GR (1973) Deep Rotary Core Drilling in Ice. CRREL Technical Report 94, 1-48.
Ragle RH, Hansen BL, Gow AJ, Patenaude RW (1960) Deep Core Drilling in the Ross Ice Shelf, Little America V, Antarctica. U.S. SIPRE Technical Report 70, 1-10.