A Review of Chinese Attempts in Ice Drilling Technology

China has made considerable efforts in its ice-drilling technology since the 1970s; however, a comprehensive overview of its achievements is still lacking. This paper reviews China’s progress in ice-drilling technology over the past five decades. First, drilling projects in the Third Pole and polar regions are summarized. In the Third Pole region, more than 120 boreholes have been drilled, with the deepest reaching 324 m and the highest on the summit of Mount Everest. In Antarctica, Chinese drilling activities have mainly been concentrated in the area near Great Wall Station and along the traverse from Zhongshan Station to Dome A. Key achievements include a >800 m deep ice-core borehole at Dome A, a 3413 m hot-water borehole at Qilin Subglacial Lake (QSL), and the recovery of two subglacial bedrock cores. Second, the mechanical and thermal ice drills developed in China are reviewed. Before the 2010s, China had only shallow-drilling systems. Since then, a series of ice drills with deep-drilling capabilities have been developed. Future drilling priorities include resuming deep coring at Dome A, exploring QSL, sampling the subglacial bedrock of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains (GSMs), and expanding activities to West Antarctica. Simultaneously, existing drills that are still at the laboratory or early field-testing phase require further refinement and validation, and the development of new drills, such as a deep ice-core drill, a thermal ice coring drill, and a flexible-tube air reverse-circulation drill, should be actively pursued.