In a significant step for the Million Year Ice Core (MYIC) project, over 600 kg of essential drilling supplies were airdropped to Casey station on October 21, 2025. This airdrop marks the beginning of the summer drilling season for the MYIC initiative.
The supplies delivered included flatpack benches, rubber flooring mats, ice core trays, driller suits, mechanical components, and frozen food. This airdrop was part of a larger nine-tonne supply drop that also encompassed fresh food and medications, conducted by a Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster III from an altitude of 1,500 metres. This operation is officially the kickoff for the 2025-26 season of “Operation Southern Discovery,” which represents the Australian Defence Force“s support for the Australian Antarctic Program”s scientific and logistical operations.
According to Dr. Joel Pedro, the Science Lead for the Million Year Ice Core project, the successful airdrop and accompanying logistical support are vital for the project”s objective to drill the longest continuous ice core record of the Earth”s past climate and atmospheric conditions. “The one to two million years of climate data that this ice core will yield will enhance our understanding of long-term climate and ice sheet stability and assist in validating climate models,” Dr. Pedro stated.
Mr. Simon Owen, who directs the Australian Antarctic Division“s Operations Management Centre, explained that this airdrop is just the initial phase of a comprehensive three-phase strategy designed to support the MYIC project. The subsequent phase will involve transporting additional drilling equipment and sensitive scientific instruments from RSV Nuyina to Casey station, along with a ten-member tractor-traverse team that will transport everything 1,200 km uphill to the drilling site at Dome C North. The final phase entails delivering a four-tonne ice core drill winch and other essential deep ice core drilling tools to the French station Dumont D”Urville, using the L”Astrolabe. This winch will then be moved by French traverse to the Australian ice core drilling site.
“The airdrop, combined with the Casey fly-off, will allow Australia”s traverse team to prepare the tractors and other equipment for winterization, enabling them to leave Casey approximately four weeks earlier than would be possible through alternative logistical routes,” Mr. Owen noted. “If everything proceeds as planned, the drill winch will reach Dome C North shortly thereafter.”
Dr. Pedro emphasized that this phased delivery approach ensures that equipment can be strategically positioned before the arrival of the eight-person team of ice core scientists and drilling engineers, expected in late November. “Having multiple logistics pathways this season aims to safely deliver our equipment on time to facilitate two months of scientific research and ice core drilling,” Dr. Pedro added. “There is a limited opportunity from late November to late January when conditions are sufficiently warm to work at the site, which is situated over 3,200 metres above sea level. Outside this timeframe, temperatures can plummet to between -50°C and -60°C, making work and logistical support at this remote location unfeasible.”
Last season, the traverse and scientific drilling teams spent a month at Dome C North, where they installed a large drilling shelter, tested their ice core drilling equipment under harsh conditions, and successfully drilled 150 metres of a planned 3,000 metres into the ice sheet. The ice cores retrieved are currently undergoing analysis at the laboratories of the Australian Antarctic Program in Hobart. Additionally, the team conducted geophysical surveys at the site to enhance their understanding of the physical attributes of the deep ice.
This season, a substantial portion of the team”s efforts will focus on setting up a large, cable-suspended, electro-mechanical drill capable of reaching depths of 3,000 metres while withstanding temperatures of -55°C in the ice. The Australian Antarctic Division has spent nearly six years developing this innovative drilling system in collaboration with various international research teams. “Our goal this season is to drill 400 metres, with aspirations to reach 1,000 metres per year afterward, which will put us on track to reach bedrock by 2029,” Dr. Pedro concluded.
