How do you obtain earth core samples?

Question

Yes, you drill. The heart of the question arises from the recent San Andreas core samples. How did they get the sample up the hole that they drilled? The rock sample is a tight fit. It must require a heck of a force to bring it up. Where does the drill bit get it's rotation from? (All of the way back to the original drilling rig, or more local to the bit?) Where do the worn rock that the bit chews up go? I assume that Ice cores are done in a similar fashion to rock cores except for a stronger bit.
Thanks

Answer 1

Core drilling, also called diamond drilling, uses a hollow drill bit attached to hollow drill rods. The business end of the drill bit is embedded with small diamonds. The drill bit is turned and pressure is put against the rock by the drill chuck and motor assembly. That creates friction and heat, so water (and sometimes lubricants and conditioners) is pumped down the hole to keep the bit cool and wash away the cuttings. Core ends up in the core barrel behind the bit, and every so often (usuall every 5' or 10') the core barrel is retrieved with a winch assembly to recover the core.

If you search for "diamond drill" I'm sure sure you will find some pictures and better explanations.