7 April 2009 Another Day on the Rig

Journal

LIVE FROM IPY EVENT COMMING SOON!! WE WANT TO TALK TO YOU!I spent a good part of the day out on the drill rig again... the longer I am here, the more I learn and the more useful I can be. Whether turning pipe wrenches, cleaning the floor, or packing the sediment cores, there are many jobs on the drill rig.

As I learned before I came, the Lake El'gygytgyn drilling project, is the most northern drilling project ever undertaken. I often wondered... Why is this project so unique? For one thing, it is very difficult working out on the middle of a frozen lake in the middle of the Siberian tundra. If equipment breaks, we hope someone can fix it, because there is no repairperson to call. If a part needs to be replaced, we hope someone anticipated the problem and brought a spare... there is no hardware store to run to. Then there is the ice and cold... Some drill rigs are designed to float on lakes, others on sit on land... drilling on a frozen lake is very different from working on either land or water.

Drilling is a dangerous job on a good day... so safety is always a big concern. Heavy equipment flies overhead and it is easy to trip over cords, pipes and hoses, which are all necessary for the drilling equipment. Since lots of water and mud can spray all over the drilling area, the floor gets slippery... If someone is not paying attention they can easily be injured. Now add in the cold and ice. As you saw in the drilling video the other day, the drilling area must be kept warm...as the workers get wet with water that is just above freezing, they must be able to warm up quickly. When water gets on the floor, if the water is not vacuumed up right away, it will freeze increasing the danger.

Here are a few images from today...