DULUTH — The University of Minnesota Duluth has received a nearly $9 million federal grant to conduct research in Antarctica.

The $8.97 million grant from the National Science Foundation will fund the construction of an ice-drilling platform. University scientists said it will be the first system of its kind to be used in Antarctica.

The university said the research will provide a new perspective on major ice caps and their surrounding geology.

The project’s lead scientist said researchers will use the drill to make a borehole in the Antarctic ice sheet and the bedrock below. Crews will take samples of ice in about 10 days before moving to a new drill site.

Construction will start next June. The research program is expected to begin in late 2017.