Recommendations for a
U.S. Ice Coring Program

Preface

This report presents recommendations from the ad hoe Panel on Polar Ice Coring. The panel was formed under the Polar Research Board's Committee on Glaciology to (1) assess the U.S. scientific capabilities in ice core drilling and core analysis from a national and international perspective; (2) recommend an appropriate balance between capabilities in shallow, intermediate, and deep drilling, based on the most compelling scientific opportunities and realistic assessments of technological problems and available resources; (3) recommend ice core analysis techniques that could advantageously be developed in the United States; (4) recommend an action plan for achieving the desired ice core drilling and ice core analysis capabilities; and (5) set guidelines for the development of policies for international agreements requisite for cooperative ice core programs, drill site selection, and science plan development.

The high scientific importance of ice core drilling and ice core analysis has been emphasized in previous National Research Council reports. The Polar Research Board report Snow and Ice Research: An Assessment (National Research Council, .1 983a) listed the following as highest priority in the field of Quaternary glaciology: a long-term program of ice core drilling in central Greenland for acquisition of long-term environmental and climatic records; a continuous ice core to bedrock at a site in Antarctica to determine the presence or absence of the West Antarctic ice sheet during past interglacials and to provide paleoclimatic data; the comparison of climatic and environmental information contained in ice cores with local or regional meteorological information and historical records of of climatic and environmental changes; and the development of analytical methods to extract information from ice cores related to global anthropogenic pollution, climatic and environmental history, absolute age, and the past configuration and motion of the ice sheet. The Polar Research Board report Research Emphases for the U.S. Antarctic Program (National Research Council, 1983b' juxtaposes polar ice coring against other research areas and recommends that highest priority be given to the extraction of the unique climatic record preserved in the Antarctic ice sheet; a priority reaffirmed in the recent Polar Research Board assessment of U.S. Research in Antarctica in 2000 A.D. and Beyond (National Research Council, 1986a). Similarly, National Issues and Research Priorities in the Arctic (National Research Council, 1985a) identifies ice coring as the first glaciological priority. Ice coring is identified as an important element in the report Global Change in the Geosphere-Biosphere: Initial Priorities for an IGBP (National Research Council, 1986b).

This report reaffirms these scientific priorities and makes specific recommendations for achieving a strengthened U.S. ice core drilling program. It assesses our current capabilities to drill and analyze ice cores, and attempts to outline elements of a plan that has the potential to strengthen significantly our ability to conduct scientifically exciting, resource-efficient ice core drilling and analysis.

Johannes Weertman
Chairman 
ad hoc Panel on
Polar Ice Coring
August, 1986

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