Drilling through glacial till at Hubbard Brook

Today we drilled 5.5 meters through glacial till and didn’t hit bedrock.  What a blast!  It was our first experience with our new Shaw Drill, and even though it rained, we drilled all day long.  We selected a location along a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) transect we surveyed last March.  The GPR survey suggested that we might reach bedrock at 8 meters and we had coring flight extensions that would allow us to go about 7 meters.  The GPR also suggested that might see alternating layers that might have different moisture levels.  When coring today we did noticed alternating layers of medium sand and sandy loam tills.  The hydrology of the till seems to be critical at Hubbard Brook!

[Right: Scott Bailey (USFS) and Left: Tom Bullen (USGS) run the drill.]