2002-03 Photos--SPRESSO project

The 2002-03 project camp site 5 miles from the station. (map)
(jump back to the information page about the 2001-02 season)


Above, a couple views of the camp. The smaller lighter-colored hut to the left of the larger one is the warming hut (an inside view of what is being warmed); that black structure is, of course, the outhouse.
One of the first tasks of the season--hauling the building and vaults out to the drill site. Here's equipment operator Sandy (Dave) Sandison along with Kent.	Here's a look inside that structurally finished building. We're inside the main room, looking toward the electrical room at the far end (it has a sliding pocket door); the cold room with the ladder to the surface is behind the wall at left in the foreground.
Here goes the building into the hole (15 December 2002)...	...followed by the shallow vault structure.
Like so.	Meanwhile, the power and data from the station get installed. Close to the station a hot water trencher was used, to avoid potential damage to existing utilities.
A closer view. Hard at work in these two pictures are Billy Texter and Peter Koson (JC).	Away from the station, the "ditch witch" was used (JC).
Here's the cable installation sled being put together...	...and here are Ross Thorsen, Dave Carlson, and an unidentifiable GA installing the cables (JC).
Later, a heated shack was towed along the trench for splicing the cables... seen here is Dave Carlson. One interesting problem here is that the ice is "stretching" between SPRESSO and the station about 2-1/2 feet a year, or about 18 feet between 2000 and 2008. Various expansion provisions were made for the 3 cables--4160V power, ground, and fiber optics (data) (JC).	The cables get inspected every year. This is one of the expansion loops in the power cable (as seen in January 2008 when this box was modified). Future movement of the cable can be determined by measuring the two tape marks. And, the instrument site has a high-grade GPS antenna/receiver that helps track the position of SPRESSO relative to the station.
Meanwhile, the drilling operation was continuing. Here BK Grant (left) looks on as Kent Anderson, Terry Gacke, and Mark Albershardt deal with the drill.	A closeup view of Kent Anderson with the reamer. They had the cutter at the top of the barrel as seen here; the bottom of the barrel would guide the reamer into the hole, while cuttings would be collected in the barrel (TG).
The reamer, here being dealt with by Mark and Lou Albershardt, and Bella Bergeron.	Inserting the reamer into the hole. The barrel would hold only about 1/2 meter of cuttings, so it made lots of trips up and down the hole (TG).
Here's Kent at the drill controls (TG).	A look down one of the boreholes. The first two holes were successfully reamed to 12" and a third "spare" hole was drilled with core samples taken.