Permafrost Tunnel, Camp TUTO, Greenland

Book excerpt: An experimental tunnel, 300 x 9 ft. was driven into a glacial till hillside near Camp TUTO during the summer of 1959 for the purposes of determining the feasibility of excavating subsurface openings in frozen glacial till, developing efficient methods for excavating this material, and determining the characteristics of the glacial till at depth. Excavation of frozen glacial till by conventional hard-rock mining methods, modified slightly to allow for low temperatures, was found to be feasible. The employment, effectiveness, and possible improvement of the mining methods and equipment are discussed and problems for future study are suggested.