Kyra is studying how grain size distributions in ice sheets effect the dynamics of ice flow, which has implications for projections of sea level rise in a warming climate. This summer, Kyra had a chance to go see the ice in the wild! Here are some highlights from her trip.
From June 3 to July 13 , PhD Candidate Kyra was in Greenland for field work, attending the 2024 season of the deep ice core drilling project EastGRIP (East-Greenland ice core project). The deep drilling was finished last year already so originally, the plan was for Kyra to support the logistics with packing down and documenting the camp. However, a new intermediate drill setup was tested in the camp bringing to surface an almost 83m long firn core! Kyra assisted during drilling, and then logged, processed, measured, and packed those - sometimes fragile - firn beauties. Besides logistics and drilling there were many opportunities for further scientific work: borehole temperature logging of 4 shallow bore holes close to the camp, assisting with radar measurements along a flow line, and investigating snow stratigraphy in a freshly dug snow pit.
During this six week period, Kyra spent 5 week on the ice sheet, 300 km away from the coast at an altitude of about 2,500 m. The remaining time was needed for arrival and departure. After a camp population of 11 in the first week it increased to 14 for the remaining time with a peak of 23, when another team used the drill camp for transit. Keeping the mood up in such a remote place in a harsh environment is important and the cook did his best to keep the camp happy. Saturday night celebrations and sport events contributed to the team spirit. The camp center and common area is the black main dome, surrounded by sleeping tents, garage tents, the heated fridge, a tunnel used as freezer, and of course the deep drill trench. Temperatures have been usually around -10°C and the sun never set.
Spending several weeks at such a remote and beautiful place was a very unique experience and Kyra came back to Utrecht with backpack full of memories, inspiration and new ideas for her PhD project!
EastGRIP location
The EastGRIP ice core is located inside the North-East Greenland Ice Stream (NEGIS). Ice streams are highways for fast ice flow contributing to 50% of the Greenlandic ice discharge into the oceans. NEGIS is the largest ice stream in Greenland spanning from the ice sheet center (surface velocity of few m/yr) all the way to its three outlet glaciers at the ocean (surface velocity of >1,000m/yr). What triggered NEGIS to form and how the deformation inside this ice stream looks like, is still not yet fully understood. To solve this question the EastGRIP ice core was drilled. The drilling started 2016 and reached bedrock at a depth of 2670m in 2023.
For more information and field diaries visit: https://eastgrip.org/
[Above] Put in and pull out flights operated by the 109th U.S. Air Force crew with one of their LC-130 Hercules machines.
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