The East Greenland Ice-core Project (EGRIP) aims to retrieve ice cores by drilling through the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream (NEGIS). Ice streams greatly affect draining a significant fraction of the ice from the Greenland Ice Sheet, and we hope to obtain new and fundamental information on ice stream dynamics through the project, thereby improving the understanding of how ice streams will contribute to future sea-level change.
This is the 3rd year of this project, and our group has been participating in the project since the first year in 2016. This year, I stayed at the EGRIP camp for three weeks from the end of June to work for ice core logging and processing. I would introduce what I did at the camp.
Ice core retrieved by drillers were placed in the logging room for measuring a length and cutting into 165cm. Logging is one of the most important processes for the ice core.
Picture 1: Ice core in the logging room
After the logging, the ice cores were stored in a storage called core buffer to wait for measuring, cutting and packing.
Picture 2: Core buffer
At the science trench, we did dielectric property (DEP) measurements, electric conductivity measurements (ECM), line scanning, continuous flow analysis for water isotope, physical property analysis, ice core cutting and packing. I was mainly working for cutting and packing the ice core samples.
Picture 3: Science trench
During my stay at EGRIP, we processed the ice from the end of the Holocene to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), which was so exciting because the appearance of ice dramatically changed in the LGM. We didn’t see any cloudy bands in the Holocene ice, while we saw many cloudy bands in the LGM ice.
Picture 4: Cloudy bands
Also, we observed many volcanic ash layers, which were also very exciting.
Picture 5: Volcanic ash layer
People in the science trench was so nice that I enjoyed working and staying at EGRIP camp.
Picture 6: People in the science trench
Ikumi Oyabu(NIPR / a member of Theme 2)
