CR
Cryospheric Sciences

EverDrill

The EverDrill project: shedding light on the interior of a Himalayan debris-covered glacier

December 3, 2021
The EverDrill project: shedding light on the interior of a Himalayan debris-covered glacier
Figure 1 – The upper ablation area of Khumbu Glacier, with clean ice (left centre of image) coming out of the Khumbu Icefall becoming debris-covered as it flows towards the terminus (flow is towards the bottom right of the image). Credit: the author.

We know that glaciers are actively responding to climate change, but what is happening on the inside? The conditions within a glacier strongly influence its behaviour, but the deep and dark depths of a glacier are difficult to access – we know very little about this remote environment. The EverDrill project (2016 – 2019), funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council, aimed to fill this kn ...[Read More]

Image of the Week – Drilling into a Himalayan glacier

July 28, 2017
Image of the Week – Drilling into a Himalayan glacier
Fig.1: Drilling a borehole on Khumbu Glacier, Nepal Himalaya. In the foreground, the drill stem can be seen hanging off a tripod, attached to a spool of hose. Hot, pressurised water is supplied to these units from a pressure-washer in the background. [Credit: Katie Miles]

How water travels through and beneath the interior of debris-covered glaciers is poorly understood, partly because it can be difficult to access these glaciers at all, never mind explore their interiors. In this Image of the Week, find out how these aspects can be investigated by drilling holes all the way through the ice… Hydrological features of debris-covered glaciers Debris-covered glaciers ca ...[Read More]