(Paper title:)



Proposed addition of the Professor Kudryashov’s drilling complex building at the Russian Antarctic Vostok station to the List of Historic Sites and Monuments

Proposed addition of the Professor Kudryashov’s drilling complex building at the Russian Antarctic Vostok station to the List of Historic Sites and Monuments

This is a proposal for a new Historic Site or Monument in the Antarctic

1) Name of Proposed HSM: Professor Kudryashov’s Drilling Complex Building

2) Description: The drilling complex building was constructed in the summer season of 1983-84. As a result of its operation under the leadership and with participation of Professor Boris Kudryashov: the ancient mainland ice samples were obtained and on the basis of their isotopic and glaciological studies, a paleoclimate reconstruction of the Earth’s climate for four glacial and interglacial periods was carried out for the first time and cyclicity of the Earth’s climate change was determined for the last 420 kyr; the deepest borehole in the world was drilled in the glacier reaching at a depth of 3769.3 m the surface of the largest in Antarctica subglacial Lake Vostok. Using a unique technology, the ecologically clean unsealing of the subglacial Lake Vostok was performed on 5 February 2012 as a result of which the lake water went up the borehole to a height of 592 m. For the drilling technology used a methodology of aseptic microbiological sampling from the ice core was developed and duration of anabiosis of microorganisms of more than 200 kyr was proved at the level of scientific discovery.

3) Coordinates: 78º28' S, 106º 48' E, and height above sea level - 3488 m.

4) Original Proposing Party: the Russian Federation.

5) Party undertaking management: the Russian Federation.

Proposed addition of the Professor Kudryashov’s drilling complex building at the Russian Antarctic Vostok station to the List of Historic Sites and Monuments

Summary

The Russian Federation proposes in accordance with Article 8 of Annex V to the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, that the Professor Kudryashov’s drilling complex building at the Russian Antarctic Vostok station be added to the “List of Historic Sites and Monuments Approved by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting”.

This proposal is connected with the need to commemorate the unique in the world practice achievement of the Russian drillers and glaciologists in the field of drilling deep ice boreholes, reconstruction of paleoclimatic changes based on the ice core data, microbiological studies of these ice cores and ecologically clean unsealing of the subglacial Lake Vostok.

Practically all these achievements were reached under the leadership and direct participation of Professor Boris Kudryashov, Head of the Chair of Borehole Drilling of the St. Petersburg Mining Institute and his students. Professor Boris Kudryashov passed away in 2002 and in connection with a unique and engineering achievement of the Russian drilling school, which occurred on 5 February 2012 at the Antarctic Vostok station – unsealing of the subglacial lake and completion of the glacier drilling, the administration of the National University of Mineral Resources (Mining University) proposed to name the drilling complex building at Vostok station after Professor Kudryashov.

Background

The Russian (Soviet) Vostok station was opened for implementing the work program of the International Geophysical Year 1957-58 on 12 December 1957 in coordinates 78º28' S, 106º 48' E by means of the sledge-tractor traverse from Mirny station. The glacier drilling at this station began in 1967 with the aim of investigating its deep structure and paleoclimatic reconstructions based on the ice core characteristics. During the first 16 years of these studies 3 deep ice boreholes were drilled at Vostok stations using different drilling methods and means. In 1983, creation of the new drilling complex (Fig.1) began and two more boreholes were drilled. The last of them – 5G became the deepest of all ice borehole drilled in the world (3769.3 m).

Technical characteristics of the drilling complex building:

Area - 72 m2,

Length - 18 m,

Width - 4 m,

Height - 3 m,

Rig height – 15 m.

The building is constructed of prefabricated wooden panels.

Figure 1 - Drilling complex of Vostok station

[pic]

Fig. 1 Drilling complex of Vostok station

Position and description

The drilling complex at Vostok station (coordinates: 78º28' S, 106º 48' E) is located at a distance of 100 m to the south of the mess-room building of the station. All facilities and structures of Vostok station are located on the snow-firn surface of the Antarctic Plateau at a height of 3488 m above sea level.

Reason for designation

Consistent with Resolution 8 (1995) and the Appendix to Resolution 3 (2009), the Professor Kudryashov’s drilling complex building at the Russian Antarctic Vostok station merits listing for the following reasons:

1) The deepest ice borehole in the world was drilled in this drilling complex by means of Russian technologies and drilling facilities 3769.3 m long by the ice core.

2) On 5 February 2012, the ecologically clean unsealing of the subglacial Lake Vostok – the first such natural body in Antarctica was done.

3) Based on the ice core data extracted from borehole 5-G, the paleoclimatic changes in Antarctica for the last 420 kyr were reconstructed, which made it possible to identify 4 full climatic cycles from the advance of glaciers to the “warm” interglacial period. These data are widely cited in all monographs devoted to the study of climate variability at the Earth published in many countries.

4) On the basis of data of microbiological study of the ice cores, a scientific discovery of the anabiosis of microbial organisms with duration of more than 200 kyr and of DNA molecules of thermophilic bacteria was made confirming a hypothesis on the riftogenic origin of the subglacial Lake Vostok basin.

5) Using this drilling complex, study of the water layer and bottom sediments of the subglacial Lake Vostok will be continued.

6) The reason for commemorating the name of Professor Kudryashov is that Professor Kudryashov, Head of the Chair of Borehole Drilling of St. Petersburg Mining Institute, was in charge of developing the technology and tools of deep drilling of boreholes in glaciers from 1967. He participated in the 20th (1974-75) and the 24th (1978-79) Soviet Antarctic Expeditions. Using the equipment and technologies developed by Boris Kudryashov in East Antarctica and on the Northern Land in the Arctic, a large number of ice boreholes were drilled with a full ice core extraction more than 18 thousand m long and the borehole 5G at Vostok station is a record one compared to similar facilities created by man at our planet. Professor Kudryashov is author of more than 250 scientific publications, including 17 textbooks and monographs in Russian, English, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese, 48 author’s certificates and patents. He has trained more than 25 candidates of science and 6 doctors of science.

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