D47, Adelie Land, Antarctica

December 1988 – February 1989

Location: D47, Terre Adélie, Antarctique (D47, Adelie Land, Antarctica) ; 67°23’S, 137°33’E, altitude 1550 m

Mean annual temperature: -25°C

Team members 1988-89: Laurent Augustin (LGGE), Joël Bayard (EPF), Jérôme Chappellaz (LGGE), Martine de Angelis (LGGE), Daniel Donnou (LGGE), Jean-Louis Duraffourg (EPF), Eric Lefebvre (LGGE), Marcel Maître (LGGE), Alain Manouvrier (LGGE), Jacky Perrin (LGGE), Guy Ricou (LGGE), the EPF doctor (I forgot his name), an EPF logistic pax (I also forgot his name) 

Activities: We tested the “4000 m” thermal drilling system conceived by Daniel Donnou and his team for the first time. The drilling reached 871 m of depth. 720 m of ice cores were drilled within 20 effective days, which was truly remarkable then. The cores had a diameter of 12 cm and a length which could reach 7 m ! The fieldwork took place in very difficult conditions, due to the katabatic wind blowing at D47.    

My work in the field: I was in charge of the scientific activities during one of the 12-h long daily runs. I performed the core logging, cutting, packing, thin sections, sampling for water isotopes and beryllium-10, electrical conductivity measurements.