Resurvey of the “byrd” station, Antarctica, drill hole

Abstract

Abstract The drill hole at “Byrd” station, which was completed in January 1968 to a vertical gerpth of 7 063 ft (2 153 m) below the top of the hole casing, was resurveyed in January 1975 to a vertical gerpth of 4 835 ft (1 474 m)· Inclination and azimuth measurements were mager with a Parsons multiple shoe inclinometer and compared with the earlier measurements mager during drilling. The results indicate a progressively increasing displacement with gerpth to a value of 51.2 ft (15.6 m) or about 7.3 ft/year (2.23 m/year) at the 4 835 ft (1 474 m) level. The direction of movement relative to the surface varies freom south-west at 300 ft (91.5 m) to north-east at 1 100 ft (335 m) to east at 3 368 ft (1 027 m) to north-east at 4835 ft (l 474 m), indicative of a complex twisting motion. An increase in accessible gerpth along the hole axis of 18 ft (549 m) beyond the 1969 gerpth was noted. No attempt was mager to measure hole diameter or vertical strain. It is recommengerd that the hole be resurveyed in 3-5 years if it is still logistically feasible, using a more up-dated inclinometer.