SHALDRIL II: Workshop on Shallow Drilling Systems for U.S. Antarctic Program

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*** 9873071 This award, provided by the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation, supports the continuation of activities of a committee of marine geologists, designated SHALDRIL II (for "shallow drilling"), to investigate the technical feasibility of conducting shallow drilling operations from US Antarctic Program (USAP) vessels in support of scientific research. Shallow drilling for paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental records on the Antarctic continental margins has been identified in a number of venues as being of high importance. These records are essential for constructing models of ice sheet advance and retreat and for constraining paleoclimatic conditions from the earliest Cenozoic (65 million years ago) to the very recent past. The SHALDRIL (shallow drilling) Committee began work in 1996 as an offshoot of other community based Antarctic geology planning efforts. With support from a previous workshop award, the committee commissioned a technical evaluation, by a professional engineer, of available drilling systems and their suitability and compatibility for use on USAP ships. The results of this evaluation were presented at a meeting held at Florida State University on February 28, 1998. The engineering report represented an extensive investigation of existing and developing ship-based drilling technology with the main conclusion being that no extant drilling systems could be deployed on US vessels at present, but that two promising systems were to undergo field testing by their manufacturers during the coming year (1998). In addition, however, there were other systems available that could be used by third party ships, essentially specialized drilling ships, for Antarctic work. The SHALDRIL Committee concluded, therefore, that the best course of action was to continue to observe and evaluate the technical development of promising drilling systems. Furthermore, the Committee determined to undertake further assessments of potential areas for shallow dri lling, with the goal of specifying in more detail categories of suitable scientific drilling targets in various settings (geographic region, water depth, ice conditions, etc.) around the Antarctic margin. The committee intends to continue its work with the intention of holding a follow-up workshop meeting after the field tests during 1998 are completed. The Committee continues to interact with individuals and groups in the community to ensure that the scientific perspectives and rationale for drilling are as complete as possible. The workshop will occur between late 1998 and mid 1999. ***