Ice core records have led to many important discoveries and have revolutionized climate science. Members of the U.S. ice coring community have led the efforts to retrieve and study ice cores yet continued U.S. scientific productivity in this area, including both knowledge generation and creation of the next generation of scientists, critically depends upon a mechanism for ensuring continuity and international cooperation in ice coring efforts, along with availability of appropriate drills, drilling expertise, and innovations in drilling technology. This award provides support for a Scientific Drilling Support Office (SDSO) that will work closely and cooperatively with an Ice Drilling Design and Operations Group (IDDOG). The intellectual merit of this project is embodied in the five closely linked goals of this project. These are to: 1) Provide community leadership in ice core science and drilling research planning in response to community input, 2) Provide scientific oversight of projects directed to the IDDOG, 3) Identify new technology needs and seek funding for their development, 4) Enhance communication and information exchange related to ice core science and ice core drilling technology as a service to the community, and 5) Coordinate information exchange between U.S. ice core research and drilling technology communities and international groups. The broader impacts of this project include organization and dissemination of results of science planning, and the retrieval, transformation to digital media, and dissemination of existing knowledge on aspects of ice drilling technology that have not previously been widely available, along with dissemination of knowledge of current issues and solutions for drilling technology. The SDSO will work in support of the U.S. cryospheric sciences and drilling communities to facilitate planning efforts and to be proactive in the planning and coordination that is necessary to form and execute continuously evolving ice core programs. The formation of an ongoing, continuous program will nurture the inclusion of students of all ages, races, and genders, and will help to launch graduate students into promising careers in climate science, and the resulting discoveries will help all citizens. Achieving the goals of this project will enable the U.S. ice coring research community to realize implementation of their internationally-coordinated ice coring goals, lead the world in ice coring science discoveries, nurture the education and development of the next generation of scientists and engineers, and help to communicate the importance of their discoveries to all.
