GCPBA board member Blakely LaCroix and Peter Werness, Ph.D. did a formal scientific analysis of the performance of coolers in different configurations. Their released results are available here:
Article 1: An Evaluation of Drained vs. Un-Drained Coolers.
Cooler Research Article 1 Drain vs No Drain
Article 2: An Evaluation of Block ice vs. Cube ice.
Cooler Research article #2 - Block ice vs Cube ice
Article 3: An Evaluation of Block ice vs. Bottle ice.
Cooler Research article#3- Block ice vs Bottle ice
Cooler Research article#3- Block ice vs Bottle ice