Ice drilling allows scientists studying glaciers and ice sheets to gain access beneath the ice, to take measurements along its interior, and to retrieve samples. Instruments in the bored holes can record temperature, pressure, speed, and direction of ice movement. Many different methods have been used since 1840, when the first scientific ice drilling expedition attempted to bore through the Unteraargletscher in the Alps. Two early methods were percussion, in which the ice is fractured and pulverized, and rotary drilling, a method often used in mineral exploration for rock drilling. In the 1940s, thermal drills that melt ice were developed, and jets of hot water or steam to bore through ice soon followed. A growing interest in ice cores, used for paleoclimatological research, led to the development of ice coring drills in the 1950s and 1960s, and there are now many different coring drills in use.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_drilling

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1149:

Second Crusade: An army led by Nur ad-Din Zangi destroyed the forces of Antioch led by Prince Raymond. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Inab

1659:

Russo-Polish War: The hetman of Ukraine Ivan Vyhovsky and his allies defeated the armies of Russian Tsardom led by Aleksey Trubetskoy at the Battle of Konotop in the present-day Sumy Oblast of Ukraine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Konotop

1914:

During the second day of the anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo (aftermath pictured), numerous buildings owned by ethnic Serbs were vandalized and looted. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Serb_riots_in_Sarajevo

1950:

In one of the greatest upsets in tournament history, the United States defeated England during the 1950 FIFA World Cup. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v_England_(1950_FIFA_World_Cup)

1985:

The European Economic Community adopted the Flag of Europe, a flag previously adopted by the Council of Europe in 1955. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Europe

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

abiogenesis:

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/abiogenesis

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

To be a man is, precisely, to be responsible. It is to feel shame at the sight of what seems to be unmerited misery. It is to take pride in a victory won by one's comrades. It is to feel, when setting one's stone, that one is contributing to the building of the world.   --Antoine de Saint Exupéry https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint_Exup%C3%A9ry