Dr. Pavel G. Talalay is a Professor at the College of Construction Engineering and Director of the Polar Research Center at Jilin University, Changchun, China. He holds Drilling Engineer (1984), Ph.D. (1995) and Doc. Eng. (2007) degrees in Exploration Engineering from St. Petersburg Mining University, Russia, where he has worked as Professor and Chair of the Dept. He also worked as a Guest Researcher for the Niels Bohr Institute (Copenhagen University, Denmark) (1998-1999). His research interests are associated with different aspects of drilling technology in ice and permafrost; ice properties and dynamics of ice sheets; environmental problems in polar regions. He has taken part in six field expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctica, and was involved in drilling the deepest hole in ice (3769 m), at Vostok Station, Antarctica. He is the author of about 200 publications, was awarded the 2006 International Geneva Salon of Inventions Gold Medal and was the winner of the 2009 International Contest on 3D-Modelling. Prof. Talalay was a member of IDDO Technical Advisory Board, University of Wisconsin - Madison, USA (2009-2017). Currently he leads several projects on drilling through East Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Includes descriptions of all methods of making holes in snow, firn and ice by melting, based on the experiences of leading professionals and practitioners

Includes more than 350 figures many of them published for the first time

Focuses on the engineering decisions and field performance of thermal drilling operations in ice, as well as drilling problems and possible solutions

Hot-Point Drills.- Electric Thermal Coring Drills.- Hot-Water Ice Drills.- Steam Ice Drills.- Perspectives For Future Development of Thermal Ice-Drilling Technology.