Photos and Videos

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Antarctica Environment

Blue ice field at the edge of the polar ice cap.
Large crevasses on the East Antarctic ice sheet.
Crevasses between South Pole and the Transantarctic Mountains.
Crevasse field at the edge of the polar ice cap.
Sculpted sastrugi surface on the ice cap.
The polar plateau with aircraft shadow.
Polar plateau of rough ice.
Rough ice surface with aircraft shadow.
Looking over the polar ice cap from above.

Construction thru August 2015

Bolted frame of Arctic-rated steel C-channel.
Assembling a bolted frame.
Inside the drill module.
Early build-out of the FRS module.
Walls and floors of the FRS module.
A one-trip shipping container used for a RAID module.
Twin Cat C-18 diesel generators.
Huck bolts and leveling legs of a module frame.
Hydraulic control manifold.
Looking down a bolted frame.
Dan measuring up the ISO2 sled bases for fit.
Moving a RAID module back from the paint shop.
Power and fluid connections in door of the FRS module.
Bolting a frame together.
Assembling one of the racks.
Completed frame base for one of the racks.
John and Blaise with the drill module.
Rod module nearing completion.
Inside the shop and parts module.
Tools!
Workbench and bottom-hole tools in the shop module.

NAT March 2015

Part of the bottom-hole assembly – ready to drill!
Chris and Dan at the NAT – happy and warm.
Chris and the Bean pump used for fluid circulation.
A RAID diamond coring bit.
Operating the Boart Longyear LF230 drill rig at the test site.
Driller’s operation stand at the LF230.
Electrical distribution in the FRS module.
Dual filter-bag units for fluid circulation.
Automatic fire suppression system.
Fluid tanks in the ‘warm’ room of the FRS.
Fluid pump in the FRS ‘cold’ room.
Dan and fluid supply tank in the FRS.
Ice cuttings on the shaker screen.
A RAID tungsten-carbide ice cutting bit.
Tank of liquid CO2 for the cryogenic test facility in Utah.
North American test site near Bear Lake, Utah.
PLC interface for the FRS automation.
Read-outs for fluid-level and temperature gauges.
Shaker unit for fluid-ice separation in the FRS ‘cold’ room.
Mouth of the dual-level screen shaker.
Attaching the swivel, for attachment on the top pipe.
Managing filter units in the FRS ‘cold’ room.

Module Schematics

Cutaway of the drill module.
Profile of the joined drill and rod modules.
Perspective cut-away of the joined drill and rod modules.
Elevation inside the FRS with cold (L) and warm (R) rooms.
Generalized perspective inside the FRS.
Perspective cut-away of the power module.
Perspective cut-away of the rod module.
Perspective cut-away of the shop module.

Commissioning

Jeff and John – proud ‘fathers’!
The RAID team at commissioning in Salt Lake City in November 2015.

Integration in SLC

RAID is supported by many institutions.
Auger flights and drill pipe in the rod skid.
Canopy erected over the joined drill and rod skids.
View up the mast.
Power connections from the gennies in the power module.
Detail of electrical cable connections in the power module.
Sponsorship for RAID.
Driller’s stand and mast telescoped inside the drill skid.
Drill mast secured within the drill skid.
Dry-fit of a RAID module to ISO2 skis.
Outside of the power module.
End door into the FRS module.
Cold room inside the FRS module.
One of the twin at C-18 generators.
Institutional affiliations.
OEM nameplate for DOSECC Exploration Services, LLC.
Outside of a RAID module with catwalk railings at the ready.
RAID institutional affiliations.
Outside of the power module.
Access door to the power module.
Dry-fit of RAID module to the ISO2 sled base.
RAID project logo.
Canopy erected over the joined drill and rod skids.
Drill module with sliding curtain sides and leveling legs.
Inside the shop module, equipped with tools and parts.
Blaise (PM) with the drill mast shroud.
Signatures of the RAID fabrication team.
AJ proudly adding his name to the RAID system.
ISO2 sled bases cradled in front of a RAID module.
Retractable vinyl curtain sides of a RAID module.
Securing the canopy over the driller’s work area.
RAID project logos.

Shipping from SLC

Do-not-freeze crates loaded for shipment.
Do-not-freeze crate – ready to go!
FRS module loaded for the trip to California.
Module cover for transit and winter-over on the ice.
Drill rig leaving for California.
Bundles of drill pipe for an Antarctic field trial.
Rod rack sealed up and ready for transport.
Loaded skis and crate of hardware.

Science

3 billion-year old gneisses of the East Antarctic craton.
John working in the field at an outcrop.
Extracting ice cores at Taylor Glacier.
Complex gneisses exposed at Milan Ridge, Miller Range.
Tanya with multiply-formed gneisses in Miller Range.
Dylan contemplating his next move on 3 billion year-old gneisses.
Collecting glacial clast samples in stiff winds.

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