Authors

Technology for environmentally friendly entry into the subglacial Lake Vostok

DOI: 10.17586/1606-4313-2024-23-4-19-24
UDC 536.2; 556; 622.24

Technology for environmentally friendly entry into the subglacial Lake Vostok

Zakharov A.A.

For citation: Zakharov A.A. Technology for environmentally friendly entry into the subglacial Lake Vostok. Journal of International Academy of Refrigeration. 2024. No 4. p. 19-24. DOI: 10.17586/1606-4313-2024-23-4-19-24

Abstract
Existing technologies of deep ice drilling do not provide environmentally friendly penetration into the subglacial lakes of Antarctica for scientific research. To solve this problem, a new technology of high-speed environmentally friendly ice drilling and opening of subglacial lakes using a combined thermal drilling unit is proposed. The design of the drilling unit eliminates contact of the circulating heated liquid with water and the borehole walls. Water formed as a result of ice melting by the thermal unit prevents the closure of the borehole walls under the action of rock pressure. The results of the thermal calculation demonstrate the possibility of drilling a deep borehole to the subglacial Lake Vostok in a few days. The new ice drilling technology will provide the opportunity to study Lake Vostok in order to search for life in extreme conditions and will allow the installation of a neutrino telescope detector in the lake to register ultra-high-energy cosmic neutrinos.

Keywords: subglacial lake, ice drilling, thermal drilling unit, ecology.

All references

1. Vasiliev N.I., Dmitriev A.N., Blinov P.A. Drilling a deep borehole at the Russian Antarctic station Vostok. Vestnik ONZ RAS. 2012.V. 4. P. 1-6.(in Russian)

2. Shturmakov A.J., Lebar D.A., Bentley Ch.R. DISC drill and replicate coring system: a new era in deep ice drilling engineering. Ann. Glaciol. 2014.V. 55. Iss. 68. P. 189-198.

3. Mason W.P., Shturmakov A.J., Johnson J.A. et al. A new 122mm electromechanical drill for deep ice-sheet coring (DISC): 2. Mechanical design.Ann. Glaciol. 2007. V. 47.P. 35-40.

4. Alemany O., Chappellaz J., Triest J. et al. The SUBGLACIOR drilling probe: concept and design. Ann. Glaciol. 2014. V. 55.Iss. 68. P. 233-242.

5. Alemany O., Talalay P., Boissonneau P. et al. The SUBGLACIOR drilling probe: hydraulic considerations. Ann. Glaciol. 2020. P. 1-12.

6. Duphil R., Possenti Ph., Piard L. A new leak-tight borehole casing at Dome Concordia station, Antarctica, for the SUBGLACIOR project. Ann. Glaciol. 2014. V. 55. Iss. 68.P. 351-354.

7. Goodge J.W., Severinghaus J.P. Rapid Access Ice Drill: a new tool for exploration of the deep Antarctic ice sheets and subglacial geology. J. Glaciol. 2016. V. 62. Iss. 236. P. 1049-1064.

8. Tulaczyk S., Mikucki J.A., Siegfried M.R. et al. WISSARD at Subglacial Lake Whillans, West Antarctica: scientific operations and initial observations. Ann. Glaciol. 2014. V. 55.Iss. 65. P. 1-8.

9. Schwander J., Marending S., Stocker T.F. et al. RADIX: a minimal-resources rapid-access drilling system. Ann. Glaciol. 2014. V. 55.Iss. 68. P. 34-38.

10. Masolov V.N. et al. Geophysical investigation of the sub-ice lake Vostok in East Antarctica. Doklady Akademii Nauk.2001, V. 379, No.5, P. 680-685. (in Russian)

11. Tikku A.A. et al. Ice flow field over Lake Vostok. Earth and Planetary Science Letters.227. 2004.P. 249-261.

12. Petit J., Alekhina I., Bulat S. Exploring a Subglacial Lake and Searching for Life in an Extreme Environment. Lectures in Astrobiology. 2005. P.227-288.

13. Lipenkov V. et al. Characterization of subglacial Lake Vostok as seen from physical and isotope properties of accreted ice. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 374: 20140303.

14. Zakharov A.A., Solovey V.A. The study of Antarctic Lake Vostok through ice borehole. Vestnik Mezhdunarodnoi akademii kholoda. 2018. No 4. p.3-9.(in Russian)

15. Zakharov А.А.The concept of an ultra-large volume detector for high-energy neutrinos. Preprint NRC “Kurchatov Institute” – PNPI. No.3077. 2024. 45 p. (in Russian)

16. Methodof drilling and access tosubglaciallakes: patent of the Russian Federation for the invention№ 2825375/ Zakharov А.А.; 26.08.2024.

17. Zakharov А.А., Kolkhidashvili М.R. Environmentally friendly technology of drilling and penetration into the subglacial Lake Vostok for fundamental scientific research. Preprint NRC “Kurchatov Institute” – PNPI. No.3075. 2023. 28 p. (in Russian)

18. Greenler L., Benson T., Cherwinka J. et al. Modeling hole size, lifetime and fuel consumption in hot-water ice drilling. Ann. Glaciol. 2014. V. 55.Iss. 68. P. 115-123.

19. Benson T., Cherwinka J., Duvernois M. et al. IceCube Enhanced Hot Water Drill functional description. Ann. Glaciol. 2014. V. 55.Iss. 68. P. 105-114.

20. Siegert M.J., Makinson K., Blake D. et al. An assessment of deep hot-water drilling as a means to undertake direct measurement and sampling of Antarctic subglacial lakes: experience and lessons learned from the Lake Ellsworth field season 2012/13. Ann. Glaciol. 2014. V. 55. Iss. 65.P. 59-73.