Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/11681/11574| Title: | An under-ice camp in the Arctic |
| Authors: | Russell, Frank L. |
| Keywords: | Cold regions Arctic regions Underground construction Ice Snow Ice excavation Ice mining |
| Publisher: | Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (U.S.) Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.) |
| Description: | Special Report From the Introduction: As part of basic research, a tunnel complex had been excavated into an ice cliff on the western face of the Greenland Ice Cap; a completely self-contained 25-man camp is now under construction in the tunnel. Beneficial occupancy is expected by September 1961. The tunnel project was originally for basic research; to observe, instrument, and sample the ice within the cap to get valuable data on interior temperatures, on grain size, shape, and orientation of individual ice crystals, and on their behavior under varying stresses. It early became apparent that improved mining techniques would have to be developed in the interests of speed and economy in mining, since openings of large cross section were required, and it was imperative that a method be used which did not crack the roof and walls of the opening: sloughs and ice falls persisted indefinitely when explosives were used for fragmentation. Modern coal mining techniques by the continuous miner method were found to be adaptable to efficient and economical ice-mining. By using these techniques, it was found that sheltered, unheated storage space within the ice masses of polar regions could be provided at less cost and in a shorter construction time than by the use of conventional surface structures. A minimum of supervisory and technical personnel is required to excavate openings of this nature, and in addition greater protection from potential air attack and blast damage is provided. |
| Rights: | Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11681/11574 |
| Appears in Collections: | Special Report |
