In this study, the formation process of ice chips was observeds, the fracture mechanical characteristics of the ice during the cutting process were analyzed. And, the mechanical model for the cutting force was established based on the observation and analysis results. And, the influencing factors and laws of cutting force were verified by the test results of cutting force generated under various experimental conditions.

We describe a new drill for glaciers and ice sheets. Instead of drilling down into the ice, via mechanical action, our drill melts into the ice. Our goal is simply to pull a cable of temperature sensors on a one-way trip down to the ice–bed interface. Here, we describe the design and testing of our drill. Under laboratory conditions, our melt-tip drill has an efficiency of ∼ 35 % with a theoretical maximum penetration rate of ∼ 12 m h⁻¹. Under field conditions, our efficiency is just ∼ 15 %.

We constructed a box model to evaluate the isotope effects of atmosphere-snow water vapor exchange at Dome A, Antarctica. The results show a clear and invisible diurnal cycle in surface snow isotopes under summer and winter conditions, respectively. After a 24-hour period, the model predicts a depletion in snow δ¹⁸O and δD under winter conditions, opposite to those in summer. The results suggest that annually atmosphere-snow water vapor exchange causes little isotope changes at the study site.

It is important to understand atmospheric chemistry over Antarctica under a changing climate. Thus snow collected on a traverse from the coast to Dome A was used to investigate variations in snow chemistry. The non-sea-salt fractions of K⁺, Mg²⁺, and Ca²⁺ are associated with terrestrial inputs, and nssCl⁻ is from HCl. In general, proportions of non-sea-salt fractions of ions to the totals are higher in the interior areas than on the coast, and the proportions are higher in summer than in winter.