Exploration Of Lake Hidden Beneath Antarctica’s Ice Sheet Begins
A four man British science team has begun the exploration of an ancient lake hidden deep beneath Antarctica’s ice sheet. The lake, located at a depth of 3.2km below the ice, occupies about 18 square kilometers and has a depth of approximately 105m deep. The lake, because of it’s depth below the ice sheet, is an ideal site for future exploration missions to detect microbial life and recover climate records.
Professor Siegert is already planning the lake’s future exploration. He continues, "Around 150 lakes have been discovered beneath Antarctica’s vast ice sheet and so far little is known about them. Getting into the lake is a huge technological challenge but the effort is worth it. These lakes are important for a number of reasons. For example, because water acts as a lubricant to the ice above they may influence how the ice sheet flows. Their potential for unusual life forms could shed new light on evolution of life in harsh conditions; lake-floor sediments could yield vital clues to past climate. They can also help us understand the extraterrestrial environment of Europa (one of the moons of Jupiter)."
There are numerous other lakes residing beneath the ice sheets of Antarctica, many of which have teams ready to explore them as well. One thing that scientists need to be very aware of is the introduction of microbes from the surface into these lakes, as well as the retrieval of microbes from the lakes themselves. Imagine if a science team exposed the world to a virus that had been living in the lakes for centuries!