Fig. 6.

Aerial views of (a) the field camp on the western shore of Lake El'gygytgyn and (b) the drilling platform on the ice pad at ICDP Site 5011-1, from Melles et al. (2011). The camp was designed for up to 36 people with facilities for maintaining two 12 h shifts. The ice pad was first cleared of snow and then artificially flooded with lake water to thicken and strengthen the ice to roughly 2 m. A gas-powered electrical generator fueled all operations. Crew changes along the 7 km ice road to the camp were accomplished by shuttle bus and Russian all-terrain vehicles (“vezdahut”). The ice road was flagged every 25 m for safe travel during whiteouts.