DIRECT MEASUREMENT & SAMPLING OF SUBGLACIAL LAKE ELLSWORTH: A multidisciplinary investigation of life in extreme environments & ice sheet history
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Earth Science and Engineering
Abstract
This project has two fundamental scientific aims: (1) to determine whether, and in what form, microbial life exists in Antarctic subglacial lakes, and (2) to determine the history of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. To meet these aims, we will undertake the direct measurement and sampling of water and sediment within Subglacial Lake Ellsworth in West Antarctica. For over a decade, scientists have regarded subglacial lakes to be extreme yet viable habitats for microbial life. Additionally, sedimentary palaeoenvironment records are thought to exist on the floors of subglacial lakes, which would provide critical insights into the glacial history of Antarctica. Of the >150 known subglacial lakes, Lake Ellsworth stands out as an ideal candidate for exploration. Through a NERC-AFI award, glaciologists have shown the lake, beneath 3 km of ice, to be 10 km long, 2-3 km wide and 160 m deep, confirming it as an ideal deep-water lake for exploration. The deployment of heavy equipment has been shown to be possible at this location, based on several deep-field reconnaissance studies. This project will build, test and deploy all the equipment necessary to complete the experiment in a clean and environmentally responsible manner. Samples will be analysed and split at laboratories in the field and at Rothera Station, and then distributed to laboratories across the UK. This project, which has been in a planning stage for four years, will be a benchmark exercise in the exploration of Antarctica, will make profound scientific discoveries regarding life in extreme environments and West Antarctic Ice Sheet history, and will be of genuine interest to the public and media.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
Martin Siegert (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Ashmore D
(2020)
Englacial Architecture and Age-Depth Constraints Across the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
in Geophysical Research Letters
Colleoni F
(2018)
Spatio-temporal variability of processes across Antarctic ice-bed-ocean interfaces.
in Nature communications
Frederick B
(2016)
Distribution of subglacial sediments across the Wilkes Subglacial Basin, East Antarctica
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface
Hodgson DA
(2016)
Technologies for retrieving sediment cores in Antarctic subglacial settings.
in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
Jamieson S
(2016)
An extensive subglacial lake and canyon system in Princess Elizabeth Land, East Antarctica
in Geology
Jeofry H
(2018)
Hard rock landforms generate 130 km ice shelf channels through water focusing in basal corrugations.
in Nature communications
Jeofry H
(2017)
A deep subglacial embayment adjacent to the grounding line of Institute Ice Stream, West Antarctica
in Geological Society, London, Special Publications
Jeofry H
(2019)
Comparing numerical ice-sheet model output with radio-echo sounding measurements in the Weddell Sea sector of West Antarctica
in Annals of Glaciology
Jordan TA
(2018)
Anomalously high geothermal flux near the South Pole.
in Scientific reports
Keen P
(2018)
A mini-corer for precision sampling of the water-sediment interface in subglacial lakes and other remote aqueous environments
in Limnology and Oceanography: Methods
Kennicutt M
(2016)
Delivering 21st century Antarctic and Southern Ocean science
in Antarctic Science
Kennicutt M
(2019)
Sustained Antarctic Research: A 21st Century Imperative
in One Earth
Livingstone S
(2022)
Subglacial lakes and their changing role in a warming climate
in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment
Makinson K
(2016)
Clean subglacial access: prospects for future deep hot-water drilling.
in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
Malard LA
(2019)
Spatial Variability of Antarctic Surface Snow Bacterial Communities.
in Frontiers in microbiology
Mowlem M
(2016)
Probe technologies for clean sampling and measurement of subglacial lakes.
in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
Napoleoni F
(2020)
Subglacial lakes and hydrology across the Ellsworth Subglacial Highlands, West Antarctica
in The Cryosphere
Pearce DA
(2016)
Microbiology: lessons from a first attempt at Lake Ellsworth.
in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
Schroeder D
(2020)
Five decades of radioglaciology
in Annals of Glaciology
Schroeder D
(2021)
Five decades of radioglaciology - CORRIGENDUM
in Annals of Glaciology
Siegert M
(2018)
Governance of the Exploration of Subglacial Antarctica
in Frontiers in Environmental Science
Siegert M
(2017)
Exploration of subsurface Antarctica: uncovering past changes and modern processes
in Geological Society, London, Special Publications
Siegert M
(2016)
Subglacial controls on the flow of Institute Ice Stream, West Antarctica
in Annals of Glaciology
Siegert M
(2017)
Antarctic subglacial groundwater: a concept paper on its measurement and potential influence on ice flow
in Geological Society, London, Special Publications
Siegert M
(2019)
Major Ice Sheet Change in the Weddell Sea Sector of West Antarctica Over the Last 5,000 Years
in Reviews of Geophysics
Siegert M
(2017)
A 60-year international history of Antarctic subglacial lake exploration
in Geological Society, London, Special Publications
Siegert M
(2016)
RESEARCH FOCUS: A wide variety of unique environments beneath the Antarctic ice sheet
in Geology
Siegert MJ
(2016)
Preface.
in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
Siegert MJ
(2016)
Recent advances in understanding Antarctic subglacial lakes and hydrology.
in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
Siegert MJ
(2016)
Antarctic subglacial lake exploration: first results and future plans.
in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
Smith A
(2018)
Evidence for the long-term sedimentary environment in an Antarctic subglacial lake
in Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Winter K
(2019)
Radar-Detected Englacial Debris in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
in Geophysical Research Letters
Description | Design for a hot water drill. Design and construction of a deep subglacial probe for direct measurement and sampling Cleanliness protocols and laboratory techniques A comprehensive environmental evaluation of the programme |
Exploitation Route | We have been highly influential on other programmes, having offered advice to US, Russian, Taiwan and Chinese programmes. We convened TWO international conferences on Antarctic subglacial lake exploration. |
Sectors | Environment |
URL | http://www.ellsworth.org.uk/ |
Description | A SCAR code of conduct on Antarctic subglacial exploration, adopted by the Antarctic treaty in 2012. This was updated in 2017 and accepted at the Treaty meeting in 2018. |
First Year Of Impact | 2012 |
Sector | Environment |
Impact Types | Policy & public services |
Description | BBC News article on our research hypothesis and activity |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | A BBC news article was published on their website, receiving world-wide interest from Newspapers and other outlets, including Chinese National TV. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35303779 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35303779 |
Description | DECC talk, why is Antarctica changing? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | An invited talk to DECC on how Antarctica is changing and why we should care |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | EGU presentation, April 2016 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | A presentation to the European Geoscience Union, Vienna, 2016. The presentation was picked up by New Scientist, which ran a story on the discovery of a major subglacial lake in East Antarctica. Several other news outlets covered the story as well, including the Daily Mail. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35303779 https://www.newscientist.com/article/2085523-huge-never-before-seen-lake-spotted-hiding-under-antarctic-ice/ http://www.scientias.nl/enorm-meer-ontdekt-ijs-antarctica/ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3554407/There-huge-lake-lurking-beneath-Antarctic-ice-Hidden-feature-hold-unique-forms-life-say-scientists.html |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.icecap2.org/ |
Description | Inaugural Lecture |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Lots of questions from the public Emails and twitter questions |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | https://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AwrBT.E48QNWo04AaNhXNyoA;_ylc=X1MDMjc2NjY3OQRfcgMyBGZyA3lzZXRfY... |
Description | Pint of Science |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Many questions from the public about my talk Emails, and social media contact, from the public about my talk |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://pintofscience.co.uk/event/undiscovered-origins/ |
Description | Royal Society Meeting on Subglacial Lake Exploration |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | workshop facilitator |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | International dialogue on the future of Antarctic subglacial lake exploration. Article in Eos on the findings of the workshop. A white paper detailing the 20 year future for subglacial lake exploration, fed to the Antarctic Roadmap Challenge to integrate with other long-term plans for exploration. A Royal Society book to document progress and plans. A high degree of community shared knowledge. A meeting with the Korean Antarctic Programme on subglacial exploration. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | https://royalsociety.org/events/2015/03/subglacial-antarctic-lakes/ |
Description | Science Uncovered 2016 - exploration of East Antarctica |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The ICECAP2 programme ran a exhibit at the Natural History Museum's Science Uncovered event, London, 30 September 2016. The audience was in the 1000s, and come from the public, academic, policy and businesses. The exhibit demonstrated how polar exploration is undertaken, what the results are and how they are important for understanding sea level change. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/whats-on/programs/nhm/science_uncovered_2016.html?date=30.09.2016 |