The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Clean access, measurement, and sampling of Ellsworth Subglacial Lake: A method for exploring deep Antarctic subglacial lake environments

Clean access, measurement, and sampling of Ellsworth Subglacial Lake: A method for exploring deep Antarctic subglacial lake environments
Clean access, measurement, and sampling of Ellsworth Subglacial Lake: A method for exploring deep Antarctic subglacial lake environments
Antarctic subglacial lakes are thought to be extreme habitats for microbial life and may contain important records of ice sheet history and climate change within their lake floor sediments. To find whether or not this is true, and to answer the science questions that would follow, direct measurement and sampling of these environments are required. Ever since the water depth of Vostok Subglacial Lake was shown to be >500 m, attention has been given to how these unique, ancient, and pristine environments may be entered without contamination and adverse disturbance. Several organizations have offered guidelines on the desirable cleanliness and sterility requirements for direct sampling experiments, including the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. Here we summarize the scientific protocols and methods being developed for the exploration of Ellsworth Subglacial Lake in West Antarctica, planned for 2012–2013, which we offer as a guide to future subglacial environment research missions. The proposed exploration involves accessing the lake using a hot-water drill and deploying a sampling probe and sediment corer to allow sample collection. We focus here on how this can be undertaken with minimal environmental impact while maximizing scientific return without compromising the environment for future experiments.
RG1003
Siegert, Martin J.
24d4866c-43e7-4325-aa56-73bdcfcdb1e3
Clarke, Rachel J.
fc15b7f6-cd7c-4068-801b-2dc7845b0823
Mowlem, Matt
6f633ca2-298f-48ee-a025-ce52dd62124f
Ross, Neil
035ecb5f-c3c1-4f13-87d9-3df8d26b4a56
Hill, Christopher S.
2525e519-0f6e-49a3-93a7-2e2ce36cd505
Tait, Andrew
6a37f58e-15bc-428b-b54d-ab936b9bffa4
Hodgson, Dominic
d2bacec5-01d1-4085-bc4d-f3e7dc529cc3
Parnell, John
b86302b0-b930-4b7c-9786-13abc612fef7
Tranter, Martyn
42ff1b9c-b38f-4943-ab73-2c2d71d2c48b
Pearce, David
225c44c7-c369-4673-a9f7-f4c95c56481a
Bentley, Michael J.
086aacda-376e-4a8f-9eab-99ae4be9deb4
Cockell, Charles
4686077d-5c15-4e7d-8638-9a5d638839f2
Tsaloglou, Maria-Nefeli
99ab30ba-15da-4d25-86ba-608d127f8369
Smith, Andy
3c1a4092-9fa3-47e9-9133-9aa1cc6a0e18
Woodward, John
a0d4152e-d5e6-4349-bed1-5b23587cf6db
Brito, Mario P.
82e798e7-e032-4841-992e-81c6f13a9e6c
Waugh, Ed
bf1debbf-0db9-43d3-84a5-044a22c52748
Siegert, Martin J.
24d4866c-43e7-4325-aa56-73bdcfcdb1e3
Clarke, Rachel J.
fc15b7f6-cd7c-4068-801b-2dc7845b0823
Mowlem, Matt
6f633ca2-298f-48ee-a025-ce52dd62124f
Ross, Neil
035ecb5f-c3c1-4f13-87d9-3df8d26b4a56
Hill, Christopher S.
2525e519-0f6e-49a3-93a7-2e2ce36cd505
Tait, Andrew
6a37f58e-15bc-428b-b54d-ab936b9bffa4
Hodgson, Dominic
d2bacec5-01d1-4085-bc4d-f3e7dc529cc3
Parnell, John
b86302b0-b930-4b7c-9786-13abc612fef7
Tranter, Martyn
42ff1b9c-b38f-4943-ab73-2c2d71d2c48b
Pearce, David
225c44c7-c369-4673-a9f7-f4c95c56481a
Bentley, Michael J.
086aacda-376e-4a8f-9eab-99ae4be9deb4
Cockell, Charles
4686077d-5c15-4e7d-8638-9a5d638839f2
Tsaloglou, Maria-Nefeli
99ab30ba-15da-4d25-86ba-608d127f8369
Smith, Andy
3c1a4092-9fa3-47e9-9133-9aa1cc6a0e18
Woodward, John
a0d4152e-d5e6-4349-bed1-5b23587cf6db
Brito, Mario P.
82e798e7-e032-4841-992e-81c6f13a9e6c
Waugh, Ed
bf1debbf-0db9-43d3-84a5-044a22c52748

Siegert, Martin J., Clarke, Rachel J., Mowlem, Matt, Ross, Neil, Hill, Christopher S., Tait, Andrew, Hodgson, Dominic, Parnell, John, Tranter, Martyn, Pearce, David, Bentley, Michael J., Cockell, Charles, Tsaloglou, Maria-Nefeli, Smith, Andy, Woodward, John, Brito, Mario P. and Waugh, Ed (2012) Clean access, measurement, and sampling of Ellsworth Subglacial Lake: A method for exploring deep Antarctic subglacial lake environments. Reviews of Geophysics, 50 (1), RG1003. (doi:10.1029/2011RG000361).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Antarctic subglacial lakes are thought to be extreme habitats for microbial life and may contain important records of ice sheet history and climate change within their lake floor sediments. To find whether or not this is true, and to answer the science questions that would follow, direct measurement and sampling of these environments are required. Ever since the water depth of Vostok Subglacial Lake was shown to be >500 m, attention has been given to how these unique, ancient, and pristine environments may be entered without contamination and adverse disturbance. Several organizations have offered guidelines on the desirable cleanliness and sterility requirements for direct sampling experiments, including the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. Here we summarize the scientific protocols and methods being developed for the exploration of Ellsworth Subglacial Lake in West Antarctica, planned for 2012–2013, which we offer as a guide to future subglacial environment research missions. The proposed exploration involves accessing the lake using a hot-water drill and deploying a sampling probe and sediment corer to allow sample collection. We focus here on how this can be undertaken with minimal environmental impact while maximizing scientific return without compromising the environment for future experiments.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 2012
Organisations: Engineering Science Unit, Ocean Technology and Engineering

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 209901
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/209901
PURE UUID: b9272e3d-d1d4-4383-91de-780d196ae03a
ORCID for Matt Mowlem: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7613-6121
ORCID for Mario P. Brito: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-1779-4535

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 02 Feb 2012 13:46
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:31

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Martin J. Siegert
Author: Rachel J. Clarke
Author: Matt Mowlem ORCID iD
Author: Neil Ross
Author: Christopher S. Hill
Author: Andrew Tait
Author: Dominic Hodgson
Author: John Parnell
Author: Martyn Tranter
Author: David Pearce
Author: Michael J. Bentley
Author: Charles Cockell
Author: Maria-Nefeli Tsaloglou
Author: Andy Smith
Author: John Woodward
Author: Mario P. Brito ORCID iD
Author: Ed Waugh

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×