State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

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Needed: Ice Drills

We are staying at the high-elevation Grasberg gold and copper mine—not on top of Puncak Jaya—because some of our equipment has not arrived. We have 99 pieces out of the 106 we shipped, but unfortunately our ice drills are in the missing pieces, and we cannot do anything without those. We are working hard to locate the missing pieces, but at this point, looking at perhaps building a drill for this project out of spare parts here at the mine, as there is no sign from DHL International nor DHL Express. My guess is we will be here until at least June 25th.

While we wait, pictures of ongoing preparations:

The team trains on how to load and unload helicopter slings safely. The helicopter will be used to transport ice cores to the mining town of Tembagapura, where they will be kept in food freezers before transport to Ohio State University.
The team trains on how to load and unload helicopter slings safely. The helicopter will be used to transport ice cores to the mining town of Tembagapura, where they will be kept in food freezers before transport to Ohio State University.
Researchers are sorting and testing equipment that has been trucked up to a staging site at the Grasberg mine (which is socked in by fog most of the time). The helicopter will make the final airlift to the glacier. (Images courtesy Freeport McMoRan.)
Researchers are sorting and testing equipment that has been trucked up to a staging site at the Grasberg mine (which is socked in by fog most of the time). The helicopter will make the final airlift to the glacier. (Images courtesy Freeport McMoRan.)
Science for the Planet: In these short video explainers, discover how scientists and scholars across the Columbia Climate School are working to understand the effects of climate change and help solve the crisis.
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