SUB GLACIAL LAKES OF ANTARCTICA

Abstract

Antarctica is renowned for its extreme cold; yet liquid water occurs at the base of the Antarctic ice sheet, several kilometers beneath the surface. This discovery was first made in the 1970s by researchers using airborne radio-echo sounding measurements. Using both airborne and surface radar, researchers have now identified more than 145 Subglacial lakes, the largest of which is Lake Vostok. The presence of Subglacial lakes on the frozen continent has captured the interest of people, both scientists and nonscientists alike. These lakes and their connected aquatic systems are among the last unexplored places on Earth. Moreover, they have been sealed from free exchange with the atmosphere for millions of years, making it possible for unique microbial communities to exist in these environments. Scientists are excited to learn about how hydrologic systems below ice sheets are connected, how they function, and how they impact the flow of Antarctic ice; and to discover if sediments in these lakes contain evidence about the climate of the Antarctic over many millions of years, perhaps even before the continent was covered with ice. Although much can be learned about these environments from remote sensing and ice core data, many of the key questions about these systems require that samples of water, microbial communities, sediments, and underlying rock be obtained. As of early 2007, no one had yet drilled into a lake; thus, the next challenge in the exploration of Subglacial aquatic environments is to determine the best way of drilling into, sampling, and monitoring these environments.