Field updates from Muller Ice Cap

  Daily Report for 15 May 2025   Today we managed to retrieve one more core from the main  bore hole. Drilling is slow, as we have to grind through ice with  quite a bit of sand and stone, something our ice core drill is not  really optimized for. While the drill teams keep at it to get as much  bottom material as we can, many other measurements are ongoing and Fei  reports a very interesting mercury observation at Müllers Ice Cap: “On May 13, we observed the occurrence of a mercury depletion event in the ambient air over the snow surface. The event lasted about 2 days with the air mercury concentration dropped to zero at times. This event is a direct result of bromine explosion over sea ice, suggesting that the Müller ice core might be promising in reconstructing past sea ice extent in the region”.   What we have done today: - Drilling main core all day, managed to retrieve one more core of silty ice, length 76cm. - Normal logging and O...

  Müller Ice Core Drilling Project   Daily Report for 14 May 2025   An extremely exciting day today in the best possible of ways!  In the second main core drill run, a small stone-like object could  be seen in the core (approx. 603 depth), in the following runs, more  and more similar objects appeared, and finally in the afternoon we got  a core with a color change of the ice itself – clearly, we entered the silty ice  seen near bedrock! The next two drill runs produced first some 27cm of core with a clear stone, and then 12 cm of core with another stone. Both short cores have been wrapped in black plastic to minimize light exposure to facilitate later luminescence dating. While the 27cm core got a few min. of light exposure, the second did not, thanks to a team effort diligently guided an carried out by Julien, who has experience in dark extraction of core material from ice core drills. Later on Iben organized a red light only zone in our fre...

  Daily Report for 13 May 2025 Late in the evening we hit another milestone in the main core  drilling, passing the 600m mark! Ice still contains lots of bubbles,  which is very exciting, as it suggests it is from a time period with  limited surface melting. In the firn-gas “suburbs” sample collection  and measurements are also progressing, with two more levels sampled  today. Finally, we also managed to ship out 36 ice core boxes to the freezer in Eureka, both thanks to the Rod and Issy piloting and loading the Twin Otter -åå++++++++++++and the kind help of, Rachel, Dave, Igor and Sergei as well as Eureka personnel, including Don making sure our freezer was turned on. Thank you so much to all involved in this important shipment out of camp!   What we have done today: - Drilling main core, drilled 16 runs from 573.91m to 600.83m (26.92m). - Logged and O18 sampled bags from bag 574 to 600. - Continued drilling of shallow core for firn-gas ...

  Daily Report for 12 May 2025   An exciting day here in our camp at the Müller Ice Cap. First of  all the first samples were collected in the firn-gas tent: in-situ  measurements of mercury, CO2 and CH4 and 5 cannisters were  filled with air for analyses at home.   Hence, now we hope for many  more samples taken at gradually increasing depths in the coming days. In  the main core drill tent there was also lots of excitement, during the first  half of the day, due to the ever-increasing likelihood of us hitting bedrock. Unfortunately, a different kind of excitement could be felt in the tent, as it was increasingly difficult to break the core! After a difficult core break, the filter was deployed in the bore hole, coming up 1/3 full. Drilling was resumed, yet core breaking remained difficult for the next two runs. Thus, filtering continued until the end the late shift, and a top up of estisol in the borehole.   What we have done tod...

  Daily Report for 10 and 11 May 2025 A busy and productive weekend here at the Müller Ice Cap.  In fact, we postponed our normal relaxed weekend schedule, in  order to make the most of the favorable weather conditions we  currently enjoy here at the Müller ice cap. Hence this weekend we  managed to finish the second shallow core, and to reach 557.66m depth in  the main core drilling operation. The firn-gas operation is setup and ready, and the  shallow drilling operation is moved close to the firn-gas tent. Hence, we have had a lot to celebrate, giving the days a bit of a “weekend feel” anyway. On top of all the accomplishments, many camp members have gracefully taken turns doing their very best to keep us all well fed, based on the food and instructions given to us by Taylor – we all wish you the best, Taylor!! What we have done during the weekend: - Drilling main core, drilled 31 runs from 495.58m to 557.66m (30.08 m Saturday, 32.00m Sunday). ...

  Daily Report for 9 May 2025   A day of ups and downs here at the Müller Ice Cap. Starting with  one of the hard facts of remote field camps, we are not equipped  to take care of any potential serious medical conditions for more than  a brief period of time. Hence, we had to call a Twin Otter to medivac  our camp cook today, as a mainly precautionary measure, making use of the  splendid weather conditions we have – a big thank you to Issy and Rod for quickly  getting Taylor back to Resolute, and many hugs to Taylor, and fingers crossed that she will be able to return after assessment and treatment in Iqaluit. On the positive side, all our drilling and science operations in camp are progressing at pace, but with some 20% of our main cores being difficult to handle today, due to the brittleness of the ice. Cores with many fractures are a challenge for the logging, and at also for some of the science to be done. We do our best to adjust on both d...

  Daily Report for 8 May 2025 The new crew spend most of the day getting to know their tasks  here in camp. Hence, we recommenced the deep drilling at a gentle  but persistent pace without implementing shifts, as to maximize  knowledge transfer, slowly building up a new rhythm. The firn-gas  campaign is getting their instrumentation moved to their tent SE of camp,  while the shallow drilling operation has been moved closer to the firn-gas tent. Furthermore, a second core is now being drilled and logged at the new site. In general, everybody seems to settle into the camp life here at Müller Ice Cap, greatly helped by the excellent meals being prepared for all of us by or new chef in camp, Taylor.   What we have done: - Resumed drilling main core, drilled 8 runs from 450.45m to 464.86m (14.41 m). - Logged and O18 sampled bags from bag 451 to 464. - Started drilling second shallow core, current logged depth: 10.85m. - Worked on firn-gas setu...

  Daily Report for the 7 May 2025 A beautiful day with clear and sunny conditions, just when we  needed it, for our mid-season crew exchange here at the Müller Ice  Cap! Hence, we managed to receive 3 Twin Otter flights carrying  both personnel and cargo to/from camp. Again, the amazing Issy and  Rod piloted and packed the plane for the shuttling between Eureka, and  Camp. Final flight went to Resolute carrying Dorthe, Grant and Shari away f rom us after many hugs and goodbyes!  After arriving in camp, the new members got settled in personal tents in short order, by expanding our tent city to a total of 14 units.   What we have done: - Main mid-season crew exchange, setting up camp for 14. - Received 3 Twin Otter flights to camp from Eureka, final flight going to Resolute. - Saying goodbye to Dorthe, Shari and Grant – and thank you for all your hard work! - Welcoming Alison and Etienne back in camp after they got a well-deserved show...

  Daily Report for the 6 May 2025 A very successful day. It is hard to believe all went so well  yesterday. The two charters both came from Yellowknife to Eureka  and Crew 2 members arrived while Crew 1 members left.  The second took most of the ice core back to Yellowknife where  Linda and Debbie received it and ensured it went to a freezer before  the further transport to the Canadian Ice Core Lab at University of Alberta. What we have done:  Drilled 3 runs from  444.4 m to 450.45 m   (6.10 m) -Logged and O18 sampled bags from bag 444 to 450 -Passed information and files between Crew 1 and Crew 2 -Taylor, Rebecca, Fei, Richard, Nicholas, Tessa, Nerilie, Anais, Jamie arrived with Buffalo Air charter to Eureka -Emma, Jaime, Dave and Kevin left Eureka for Resolute with Buffalo Air charter -74 ice core boxes with most of the ice between 0 and 400 m together with a big part of the unused metal drill tent went with Summit Air...

  Daily Report for the 5 May 2025 The mid-season exchange is happening ! Crew 1 are slowly  leaving and the first from Crew 2 are arriving. The days from May  5 th to May 7 th are the ‘overlap’ days where the science and drill  leads can pass information to the next team.   What we have done:   Drilled 2 runs from   440.30 m to 444.4    (4.10 m) -Logged and O18 sampled bags from bag 441 to 444 -Received the Twin Otter with Firn air cargo (retro empty drums and garbage) -Goodbye to Emma, Jaime, Dave and Kevin -Hello to Bo -Alia and Etienne of for a shower at Eureka (and will return May 7 th ) We are 5 in camp (Dorthe, Grant, Shari, Julien and Bo)   Dorthe Dahl-Jensen   Wx at Müller: Fog banks going in and out all day. Wind between   0 and 8 kn from N, temperatures between -20 to -16 deg C .   Caption: Watching and Flightradae24 for the Twin Otter BBV to come Caption: Crew 1 (Dorthe, Ali, Sh...

Daily Report for the 3 and 4 May 2025 From the pictures today you might think that we are not working. During the week days we start drilling at 8 am and continue with two shifts until midnight. We shift teams over lunch and dinner so the two team do not see each other much during these days. But in the weekend we stop drilling at 4 pm on Saturday and start again Sunday at 2 pm after Brunch. This is the time all from the camp are together and we enjoy the time together eating pizza, playing games, talking and laughing together.   What we have done: -Saturday: Drilled 10 runs from 403.54 m to 422.42 m (18.88 m) -Sunday: Drilled 9 runs from 422.42 m to 440.30 m (17.88 m) -Logged and O18 sampled bags and ECM   from bag 404 to 440 -Received the Twin Otter three times on Saturday (in: 17 drums of drill liquid, food and part of the firn-air cargo, retro: 36 ice cores boxes, empty drums and garbage). -We also received Julien Saturday. -Worked on power system for minil...

Daily Report for the 2 May 2025 The mid-season exchange has slowly started. Today the Twin Otter came by to take the Laura’s Muller weather station down and to pick up Sofia, who will be doing mass balance measurements on White Glacier the next week. Sofia – we will really miss you here. The night drilling shift was so quiet this night without you. In Eureka Bo, Julien and Iben have arrived and are organizing load for the camp. We will move drill liquid drums, food boxes and firn-air cargo into camp the next days.   What we have done: -Drilled 21 runs from 363.86 m to 403.54 m (39.68 m) -Logged and O18 sampled bags 364 to 403, ECM from bag 386 -Received Twin Otter, first to recover weather station, second receiving 6 drums of drill liquid and returning 18 ice core boxes to Eureka -Bye bye to Sofia -Mounted slow starter on Viessman compressor -Final plans for food boxes -Tested minilogger in SA1 70 m dry shallow borehole at Mountain View     Dorth...

Daily Report for the 1 May 2025 Today was also a day of celebration as the Muller ice core became the longest ice core drilled in Canada. The previous longest ice core was the 335.7 m m deep ice core drilled on the Agassiz ice cap in 1977, followed by the Penny ice cap ice core from 1995, 334 m long, the Mount Logan ice core from 2024, 327 m long and the Devon ice cap core from 1998, 302 m long. A great cheer to all the heroes who have drilled these past Canadian ice cores. The Muller ice core is the first ice core drilled using drill liquid allowing selection of deeper ice thickness. The drill liquid keeps pressure in the borehole and prevents the deeper ice cores from breaking due to pressure difference between the ice and the borehole. Drilling is just going so well and we celebrated during the evening making some snow sculptures.   What we have done: -Drilled 19 runs from 328.13 m to 363.86 (34.73 m) -Logged and O18 sampled bags 328 to 363 -Dug the Muller ice cap w...