The multinational NorthGRIP research programme was partly funded by participating institutions from Germany, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Iceland and the U.S.
The main purpose was to drill the 45 m long column of refrozen basal water that entered the drill hole when the ”bedrock” was reached the previous season. The reddish refrozen basal water was recovered, but a slight difference in inclination forced the drill more and more to the side into the old original ice.
The surprise was great when the drilling passed by the termination depth of previous season, 3,085 m, and continued for six more meters. This time crustal material was scraped off from the bedrock and no melt water entered the borehole.
Principal investigator
Margareta Hansson
Stockholm University