suMMEr sCHool oN tHE iNlANd iCE - Greenland Today

EDUCATION
suMMEr sCHool
oN tHE iNlANd iCE
To conclude the scientifi c summer school in
Greenland 2010, some of the participants visited
the research station on the inland ice when the ice
core drill went right through the ice cap. There is
summer school again this year.
By Svend Erik Nielsen and greenland today
The black-brown, 5 cm piece
of granite doesn’t seem like
much in the several metre
long ice core that lies in front
of us. We fi nd ourselves 10
metres down, in the Greenlandic
inland ice in the world’s
only ice laboratory. The core
was drilled 2500 metres under
the Greenlandic inland ice
two days ago. The piece of
granite is proof that the drill
bit is close to the bottom. As
some of the few in this world,
we are allowed to experience
the buzz when it happens.
The ice core was drilled at
the Danish-run NEEM station
and it can tell the history of
the earth around 200,000
years back in time. It is not
without reason, that Dorte
Dahl-Jensen bids us welcome
with euphoric enthusiasm in
her voice.
In connection with
»Science in Education Week
2010« we, i.e. two Greenlandic,
two Danish and two
American students and their
teachers, are invited to Summit,
the American research
station in the middle of
Greenland’s inland ice, and
to NEEM on the ice not far
from Thule Air Base. The trip
was arranged by the National
Science Foundation which
is a part of a collaboration
under the Joint Committee.
On Wednesday, July 21 st
2010 at 12.00 precisely, the
American Hercules aircraft
sets it skis down on the
world’s longest skiway – in
the middle of the Green-
landic inland ice. Travelling
with such an aircraft is the
same as being treated as
baggage. We sit like sardines
along the wall of the cargo
hold in noise that could send
a decibel meter into the
red. From the outside, the
aircraft resembles most of all
a huge bumble bee, while in
the cargo hold, bunches of
cables and pipes hang down
on all sides, and yet the trip
is an enormous experience.
When the aircraft comes
to a standstill, it is lifted up
onto the wheels to prevent
the skis from freezing to
the snow. Regardless of the
weather, the aircraft must
not stand on the surface of
the snow for more than two
hours and the engines are
not turned off. Loading and
unloading must therefore be
done quickly.
Summit Station
The atmospheric pressure
at the Summit Station at an
altitude of 3210 metres is
only 674 hPa, and Sofi e feels
this for herself and has to
make a call at the station’s
clinic to get extra oxygen.
The Greenlandic students
Tupaarnaq Brandt and Cecilia
Groth from GU-Aasiaat have
to spend time in the station’s
pressure bag to combat
increasing altitude sickness.
During the stay at Summit
the temperature sneaks »up«
to minus 12 degrees during
the day, with clear skies and
midnight sun. Sleeping in a
Preparing the world’s longest skiway.
Verdens længste skyway gøres klar.
tent at night with minus 20
degrees Celsius is no problem
when you are equipped with
a good polar sleeping bag
and the inside temperature
in the tent is only minus 14
degrees Celsius.
Summit is manned all year
round. The average, annual
snowfall on Greenland’s ice
cap is fi ve to seven centimetres.
These years, the ice cap
is growing in height, whilst it
is melting away at the rim.
The station’s houses stick
up from the ice like lighthouses.
They are built on
supports so they don’t get
covered with drifting snow.
Because the prevailing wind
direction in these parts is
from the south to the north,
an area south of the station’s
common house has been laid
out as an area for studying
»clean snow«. The students
from GU-Aasiaat, Niskayuna
High School in the state of
New York and Frederiksborg
Gymnasium are dressed in
white protection suits so
as not to contaminate the
samples, since they are to
collect snow for further analysis
from the »clean zone«.
In order to take measurements
at remote places in the
area, a group of researchers
has developed an unmanned
aircraft which can take
measurements of the gasses
in the atmosphere, fi nding
remains of the Icelandic ash
clouds among other things.
To conclude our work on
Summit, we are allowed to
The Hercules aircraft at Summit with the engines running during the
entire stay.
Hercules fl yet på Summit med motoren i gang under hele opholdet.
Tupaarnaq and Cecilia, GU-Aasiaat in front of the ice core with
the small piece of granite, the ice laboratory at Neem.
Tupaarnaq og Cecilia, GU-Aasiaat, foran iskernen med det lille
granitstykke, Islaboratoriet på Neem.
62 greenland today 12 2011 12 2011
greenland today 63

assist in sending up a large balloon
with equipment for measuring
ozone. The balloon is
filled with helium and it moves
up through the atmosphere to
an altitude of 30 km and we
can constantly follow the information
about the ozone
concentration and temperature.
NEEM Station
Following the stay at the Summit
Station we are supposed
to go directly to the Danishrun
ice core drilling station at
77
64 greenland today 12 2011 12 2011 greenland today 65
o JoiNt CoMMittEE
The Joint Committee cooperation is built
on a cooperation agreement signed in
South Greenland in 2004 by Denmark,
USA and Greenland and therefore called
the »Igaliko agreement«.
One of the purposes is to promote
cooperation between Greenland and
the USA with regard to research, health,
technology, energy, environment, education,
tourism, traffic and trade.
The piece of granite in the ice core at Neem.
sErMErsuAq
Sermersuaq – the great ice – is the
Greenlandic name for the inland ice.
The inland ice is mother to the white
Granit stykket i iskernen fra Neem.
ice giants of the ocean and it is gigantic
itself. From north to south the inland ice
Wine rack in the ice laboratory at Neem.
stretches more than 2,600 kilometres
– the same as the distance from Scandinavia
to northern Africa and it reaches a
Vinreol i islaboratoriet på Neem.
thickness of more than three kilometres.
NEEM - drilliNg AN iCE CorE
The Greenlandic inland ice is a unique
The drill used for the NEEM ice core drilling is a self-contained
database which can be used to study
unit only connected to the surface by an steel cable. Inside the
the climate of the past. The snow that Provisions are moved by a chain of humans to Proviant transporteres via menneskekæde til
cable, power for the drill is transmitted together with control
falls on the inland ice is covered by the the kitchen in the common house.
køkkenet i fælleshuset.
commands from the operators. The drill is about 13.5 meters
following year’s snowfall and is thereby
long, cuts away a ring of ice approx. 2 cm wide with an inner
gradually changed into ice as a conse-
diameter of 98 mm. when it slides into the inner core barrel.
quence of the pressure from the above-
NEEM stands for North Summer School 2011
The drill contains up to 4 meter of ice core. After a section
lying snow. Over thousands of years the
Greenland Eemian Ice dril- Greenlandic, Danish and
has been drilled, rotation is stopped, and the cable is pulled.
layers of ice are then pressed deeper
ling. (Eem was a warm, American students will again
Small spring-loaded knives - »core-catchers« - cut into the
and deeper down.
interglacial period of about this year have the oppor-
ice core and prevents it from gliding out of the drill. A force
The fantastic thing is that each year’s
3,000-4,000 years, about tunity to learn about polar
corresponding to a drag of 400-1000 kg is needed to break
ice lies like a growth ring in a tree and
131,000 years ago ed.). research on the inland ice.
the ice core, which is then brought to surface, where the drill
each year’s ice layer contains informa-
At NEEM a number of In the middle of July the
is disassembled, and the core is pushed backwards out of the
tion about the temperature from the
analyses are made of ice students and their teachers
inner core barrel.
time when the snow fell. It is this way, it
cores and work is hectic in will visit the two research
Drilling trough the about 2½ km of ice at NEEM requires
is possible to follow climate fluctuations
the large ice laboratory. The stations, NEEM and Summit.
8-900 drill runs, each taking from 40 minutes to several hours
back in time.
ice cores are sent to the ice Until then, 16 Greenlan-
depending on the depth.
The white colour of the ice is due to
archives at the Niels Bohr dic students, three Danish
air bubbles which are trapped under
Institute in Copenhagen for students and five American
Source : NEEM.DK / University of Copenhagen
the process of transforming snow into
further analysis.
students will take part in
ice under pressure. Many icebergs are
Being at NEEM at precisely Kangerlussuaq Scientific Field
NEEM - At borE EN iskErNE
often transversed by green, turquoise or
this time is not just »been School. They will investigate
Boret, der bruges til at bore NEEM-iskernen, er en komplet
blue bands of pure water ice. The bands N. But the weather gods there, seen that, done that the scientific aspects of na-
enhed, der kun er forbundet med overfladen via et stålkabel.
are formed in the glacier, in places that do not agree and we have to …« – not even if the visit lature around Kangerlussuaq.
Kablet leder strøm til boret samt styrekommandoer fra bo-
have melted and then frozen again with make a detour via Kangerlussted little more than an hour. Summer School is the
reoperatøren. Boret er ca. 13,5 meter langt og skærer en cirka
air bubble-free meltwater.
suaq before we can land on Watching ice, that is perhaps result of an initiative taken
to cm bred ring af is væk. Den indre diameter af denne ring
the inland ice again.
200,000 years old, being by research coordinator Lone
er 98 mm, hvilket er selve iskernens mål, når den glider ind i
rEAd MorE
After flying for three hours brought up from the under- Nukaaraq Møller, Greenland’s
kernerøret
Knowledge and science about ice core over the most enchanting ground and knowing that it Government and Laura Lukes
Boret kan indeholde op til 4 meter iskerne pr. boring. Når
drilling: www.Isarkiv.dk
landscape, we land at NEEM. contains some explanation of from the National Science
boret er fyldt, stoppes rotationen, og der trækkes i kablet. Små
In contrast to the Summit past and future climates is an Foundation. The purpose is to
fjederbelastede knive skærer sig ind i iskernen og forhin-
Latest news about the drilling and re- Station, it is only inhabited incredible experience. inspire young people to work
drer den i at glide ud af borerøret. Med en kraft svarende til
search: www.iceandclimate.nnbi.ku.dk in the summer. But right The departure from NEEM with science in Arctic regions.
400-1000 kilos træk knækkes iskernen, og boret bringes til
now there is no lack of life is also special because the The young students were
overfladen. Her skilles boret ad, og kernen skubbes baglæns ud
US National Science Foundation:
and spirits are high. The day Hercules aircraft is filled with selected following national
af borerøret.
www.Nsf.gov
before we arrive, the steel »old ice« in large polystyrene contests and 34 from Green-
Det kræver 8-900 borekørsler at nå gennem de ca. 2½ km is
drill has brought a piece of cases. It is quite a different land had applied for one of
ved NEEM. Hver boring tager mellem ca. 40 minutter og flere
Science Education Week Site:
granite up from the depths, experience to travel with the the 16 places.
timer afhængig af dybden.
www.polarfield.com/Science
probably an indication that climate history of the world
bed rock is getting closer. as luggage.
Kilde : NEEM.DK / Københavns Universitet
Description of the NEEM project
(Danish): www.neem.nbi.ku.dk
12 2011
greenland today 65