The future of deep ice-sheet research in Antarctica with the Rapid Access Ice Drill

The NSF-funded Rapid Access Ice Drill (RAID) is the only existing research tool that can rapidly penetrate the deep interior East Antarctic Ice Sheet to enable direct observation and sampling of the nearbasal glacial environment. Researchers from the Antarctic cryosphere and geosphere communities interested in using the RAID technology met for the 2nd RAID Science Planning Workshop, held in Herndon, Virginia from September 25-27, 2024. Goals of the workshop were to re-imagine how RAID can best be used to advance existing scientific questions and update the associated science planning needs for future drilling. The workshop brought together a multi-disciplinary group of scientists interested in using RAID, thereby growing participation of early-career polar researchers, promoting interdisciplinary research activities, and stimulating new cross-disciplinary research and proposal collaborations. A principal outcome of the workshop was development of a long-range science plan, embodied herein, that can provide scientific direction for future research that a platform like RAID can address. We identify critical science questions in four ice-sheet domains: (1) glaciology, glacial bed and sediment interface; (2) ice-core science and paleo-atmospheric records; (3) subglacial sampling, landscape history and bedrock evolution; and (4) borehole access and instrumentation. Potential drilling targets in East Antarctica are identified based on these science questions, principally in the corridor between South Pole and Dome A, the Wilkes Subglacial Basin, and the Aurora Highlands. To fully realize RAID’s potential, a Heavy Science Traverse capability and resources to enable a high-altitude test season are crucial for demonstrating its capability on the Polar Plateau and establishing RAID as a long-term, interdisciplinary research facility. Ideally, the RAID platform will be available to support peak activities of the 5th International Polar Year anticipated in 2032-33.