How much ice is in the Ice Cave?
There are three basic methods that we have used to estimate how thick the floor of ice is. The first method consisted of examining historic photographs of the cave and using image processing, estimate the amount of ice accumulation over the years. As a part of that same study, scientists also took a number of core samples that they were able to measure. A third piece of the puzzle involves interpolating the actual physical cave structure to determine the likely floor of the lava tube. From this information, we estimate that the total thickness of the ice mass deposit is between 18-20 feet.
