The past week has been busy as the station infrastructure is installed, providing kitchen and amenities buildings independent of the traverse facilities. Camp with newly constructed kitchen and mess in the centre. 📷 D. Beloin /..

Activity at the Dome C North station is fully underway with the final placement of camp infrastructure and science drilling commencing. The first drilling task will be installation of 120 metres of casing in the upper borehole. 📷 J. Pedro /1

And for those who might not have seen it, here’s the journey the traverse has completed:

MYIC drilling team landed at Dome C earlier today. We are one day behind schedule, which in the face of logistical and weather challenges of operating in Antarctica is a big WIN!! Two months ahead of us for deep drill set up and ice coring. Bring it on!!

Home for the next two months for the Traverse and MYIC teams. 📸 Damien Beloin

Home for the next two months for the Traverse and MYIC teams. 📸 Damien Beloin

Australian Antarctic Program Traverse team rolls into Dome C North! The 1168 km journey was completed in 17 days 🚜⚡️. A superb result so early in the season.. months of teamwork and planning! A moment to celebrate before we move to setting up our ice core drill system! 📸 D. Harvie, A. Doherty,

Touchdown on ice.. three MYIC science and drilling team members arrived to Casey Station yesterday after ride in the big jet with other incoming Casey Station crew. Thanks ADF! #AusAntarctic 📸 JP

Traverse is making excellent progress more about this and some great picutres at www.facebook.com/share/p/1Fxr...

Our season is now well and truly underway with the traverse climbing toward the drill site on the plateau. www.antarctica.gov.au/news/2025/lo...

While the field teams are already in action, preparing to traverse to the drill site, things in the MYIC labs are moving forward. Daniel and Andy made the first serious gas sublimation measurement using our system with some known-composition Law Dome core. 📷 Joel Pedro

This picture shows two complete AAD deep drill sondes (electronics assembly, motor and transmission) ready to be sealed inside pressure housings to drive deep drilling at Dome C North this summer. Photo: Derryn Harvie

Preparations are in full swing for the coming season’s fieldwork. This will see the start of drilling with the large drill built by AAD to core to around 3 km depth.

Some nice coverage of last season’s progress. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06...

🚨 WORK WITH US at @utas.edu.au IN HOBART! 🧊 Research Associate – Ice Core Atmospheric Sciences 🫧 Play a lead role in interpreting gas records from the Million Year Ice Core (MYIC) @millionyearice.bsky.social project ✍️ Applications close 13 July 2025 ▶️ aappartnership.org.au/vacancies/#i...

Yesterday, the cores arrived back in Hobart ready for analysis.

Yesterday the traverse team arrived back at Casey Station with the precious ice cores drilled this season. They will be kept refrigerated and flown to Australia in the coming weeks. 📷 Chris Wilkinson/AAD (see ALT text).

The view down the borehole shows the “blue of time” www.the-tls.co.uk/science-tech... - now sealed under the trap door until next season. Etienne and Joel reamed the final short segment ready for the casing next season; and the camp is readied for traverse to depart soon. 📷 Pedro; McLeod (aerial 📷)

Welcome to a number of new followers. Just a recap: this has been the first of several drilling seasons that will take us to about 3100 m depth and hopefully well over a million years of earth history. The link below is a good place to start, and our posts this season will fill out the story.

It's done! MYIC DCN 2024-25 team. Back row from left: Mark Cook, Etienne Gros, Chris Plummer, Daniel Baggenstos, Tim Harris, Derryn Harvie, Dave Holley, Chris Wilkinson, Jack McLeod(📷), Rob Teasdale. Front row: Chris Gallagher, Chelsea Long, Nate Payne, Joel Pedro, Liv Grover-Johnson, Damien Beloin.

Yesterday the third and final reaming pass started and reached 47 m before drill faults intervened. This required replacement of the motor and a transmission seal. It’s literally “down to the wire” now to complete the work to a logical phase, taking care to avoid pitfalls. Large reamer (see alt).

Here’s a good broad look at various aspects the MYIC project, from AAD: ❄Learn more about the Million Year Ice Core project in our interactive feature ‘Secrets of the Ice’. www.antarctica.gov.au/news/explore...

Yesterday, 22/1, another step on the way was reached with the second reaming pass completed to target depth of 125 m, widening the hole to 209 mm. This leaves the third pass to go, which will widen to final diameter of 260 mm down to 120 m. Derryn, Daniel and Chelsea pictured (📷D.Harvie).

You can now follow along with the more detailed drilling field diary for MYIC available below, and we will continue posting summary snippets here at bluesky. www.antarctica.gov.au/science/clim...

The season is drawing to a close as the short high plateau summer recedes and harsher weather approaches. Over the next week, the science team will fly out, camp will close and traverse depart. Winterising is already underway.

Progress over the last couple of days continues with the 1st of 3 reaming passes completed and the 2nd pass more than halfway. This progressive widening of the borehole will allow the casing of this upper porous section and give a tight interface to the natural “casing” provided by the solid ice.

In recent days, the upper borehole has been completed, to around 150m deep. The next phase has begun, which is to progressively widen the top 130 metres or so so that borehole casing can be installed. The widening is done with special reaming attachments.

Thanks for the wishes and the nice satellite image!

An interesting diversion today while the team get on with drilling. The resupply "road" from the coast to Concordia Station operated by France's IPEV runs nearby to our MYIC-DCN location. Our own road runs up from Casey creates an interesting crossroads in the heart of Antarctica! (📷 Wilkinson)

Now drilling is in operation, a routine is established. The drilll is winched from the trench and rotated horizontal and the inner core barrel is removed. Vertical panorama from borehole below to drill tower above (📷Chris Wilkinson). Derryn and Etienne removing barrel (📷Jack McLeod) , /.

A landmark day yesterday (14/01) as first cores drilled in the MYIC-DCN borehole, reaching driller's depth 35.4 m. 3064 m of ice and well over a million years of climate and atmospheric history lie below! Guiding the drill as it starts (📷Jack McLeod), first core comes up in the drill (📷Joel Pedro).

A timelapse of some of the construction and setup inside the drill shelter. Credit Nate Payne.

Plenty of activity to report despite mixing things up with some rest as required. The team moves the eclipse drill inside ready to begin the main borehole this week. /.

You might think there wouldn’t be wildlife sightings high on the Antarctic Plateau, but as is traditional for an Aussie camp, a visitor has appeared in recent days.

Outside the drill shelter, drilling and science work proceeded. Chelsea and Chris completed a transect of shallow cores from the main drill location to assist in characterising the site. The larger eclipse drill was tested further for reaming operations and some repairs effected.

Yesterday was busy in the drill shelter. The trench that allows the large drill to pivot from horizontal to vertical will be 6.2 metres deep. Not there yet, but it is taking shape. Meanwhile Jack and Rob are seen here busy laying the non-slip floor covering.

The big achievement yesterday was to get the drilling tent cover in place. It involved all hands hauling the cover over the frame with ropes and then securing it.

Meanwhile, the main drill shelter is progressing with floor, arch supports and drillers cabin installed. The outer skin goes on next and then it is essentially ready.

The science/drill team continued using the drill for auxilliary core, testing, training and effecting minor repairs before starting the main borehole. This included testing use of a conical reamer in the hole. /.

Drilling reached around 30.79 metres depth after a couple of days, which modelling suggests is around 490 years old. Early data from the ApRES radar indicates the ice thickness at this location is 3073-3074 metres.

Building the base frame for the drill shelter and commencing the trench where the drill will swing from horizontal to vertical when it is lowered down the bore hole.

Setting up and using the light-weight Eclipse drill that is used to drill the upper 100 metres or so of the borehole.

Setting up ApRES (radar) near the drill site. With deployments over multiple years at this same location, this will give us information on ice flow below and its crystal structure.

The heart of the camp. Dark red van at centre is the Traverse kitchen. On right are two inland station sleeping vans (each sleep 4). The blue MECC shelter in the middle is our mess area.

The beginnings of the MYIC Dome C North drilling camp, from the window of Basler JKB.

The traverse arrived at Dome C on Christmas Eve and established camp at DCN, consolidating earlier cargo from LDC and preparing for the science and drilling team who flew into camp on 31st December. /1

This map shows the traverse route from Casey Station to the Million Year Ice Core (MYIC) drill site at Dome C North (DCN). This site is approximately 9 km north of the joint French-Italian Concordia Station. /1