Shallow ice core drilled at Elephant Moraine; South Pole surveys continue

Week of January 16, 2023

By Peter Neff

With I-165 and I-188 wrapping up their seasons, it’s mostly been a week of cleanup and cargo in McMurdo. I-165 had two day trips this week, one to close up the Allan Hills site for the year and return ice cores to station, and another to recover a shallow ice core at Elephant Moraine. The Elephant Moraine trip was a success, recovering a 9 meter ice core at this site where previous samples taken by Korean colleagues indicate ice dating to between 400,000 and 1,000,000 years old. Ice coring is complete for the season, and Peter Neff and Sarah Shackleton head north Jan. 23. I-185 continues to fly surveys from South Pole, and are working through some interference issues between instruments onboard. They will be returning to McMurdo for final tests and demobilization near the end of the month.

Elephant Moraine from the air. Photo Peter Neff.

Sarah Shackleton and Peter Neff with the final section of the shallow core from Elephant Moraine. Photo Peter Neff.

COLDEX survey Basler MKB taking off from South Pole Station. Photo Shravan Kaundinya