Drill head for ice corer drill, unsigned, British, 1985. Used by the British Antarctic Survey, for drilling 10-Meter cores, for research into past climates.

This shallow hand drill was used by British Antarctic Survey to dril to depths of around 10 m in ice core investigations in Anterctica. A drill with a longer barrel (2.2 m) was used to go deeper, down to about 25 m. Such drills have been used routinely by a number of nations working in Antarctica, the Arctic and other polar regions. This particular head was first used at Dolleman Island on the Antarctic Peninsula in 1985 and then on the Dyer Plateau (again the Peninsula) by British Antarctic Survey workers, including Dr Robert Mulvaney. This drill was replaced by an upgraded model which looked similar, but the aluminium head had "core-catchers" which made the drill work better. Note, 10 m is a significant glaciological depth. The temperature measured at 10 m is generally reported as equivalent to the mean annual temperature of a location. Glaciologists have been drilling to 10 m for decades to measure temperatures to produce spatial maps of mean annual temperature in areas where there are no automatic year-round weather stations.

Drill shaft extension piece with connector for attachment of drill head of an ice core drill used in research into past climates, 1985

Drill shaft extension piece of an ice core drill used in research into past climates, 1985

T-shaped piece to hold handle of an ice core drill used in research into past climates, 1985

Handle of an ice core drill used in research into past climates, 1985