Difficult Job
Before they could begin drilling, they needed to get 25 official permits from Tanzanian agencies. The team needed to get their equipment up the mountain to the drilling site, which was above 19,300 feet, once they were granted the go-ahead. The task was difficult, and porters were required to assist. There were 92 porters in total to help with the heavy lifting.
Frozen Ice Core 705 Feet
Six cores from the mountain were retrieved when the permissions were obtained and the holes were ultimately bored. The team returned to Ohio State University's Byrd Polar Research Center with 705 feet of frozen ice core varying in length from 30 to over 270 feet. Of course, the ice was kept in the university's freezer. Thompson and his colleagues were eager to investigate the ice now that it had been returned to the university.