Ellsworth Subglacial Lake, West Antarctica: A review of its history and recent field campaigns

Ross, Neil; Siegert, Martín J.; Rivera, Andrés; Bentley, Michael J.; Blake, David M.; Capper, Linda; Clarke, Rachel J.; Cockell, Charles S.; Corr, Hugh; Harris, W.; Hill, Christopher S.; Hindmarsh, Richard C. A.; Hodgson, Dominic A.; King, Edward C.; Lamb, Henry F.; Maher, Barbara A.; Makinson, Keith; Mowlem, Matthew C.; Parnell, John; Pearce, David A.; Priscu, John C.; Smith, A. M.; Tait, A.; Tranter, Martyn; Wadham, Jemma L.; Whalley, W. Brian; Woodward, John

doi:10.1029/2010gm000936

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…[13] Since Lake Ellsworth was chosen as a suitable target for access and study [Siegert et al, 2004], several ground and airborne geophysical survey campaigns have been undertaken [Vaughan et al, 2007;Woodward et al, 2010;Ross et al, 2011a] with the aim of defining the geometry and physical characteristics of the lake. Here we review and highlight our current understanding of the lake and its surrounding environment with emphasis on those findings that have particular relevance to the lake access experiment.…”

Section: Geophysical Surveys Of Lake Ellsworthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[38] Shallow ice cores retrieved from the ice sheet surface above Lake Ellsworth [Ross et al, 2011a] have been analyzed for biogeochemistry. Using these analyses we calculate the likely hydrochemistry of the lake assuming a closed system.…”

Section: Ice Cores and Lake Biogeochemistrymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[8] Previous geophysical investigative work was undertaken at Lake Ellsworth during the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 seasons to characterize the lake, aid the design of the access program, and provide baseline data for environmental considerations. This included radio echo sounding (RES) surveys to establish the thickness and basal characteristics of the ice; seismic surveys of lake bathymetry, water body thickness, and underlying sediments; GPS measurements of the ice flow above the lake; and collection of shallow ice cores to calculate ice accumulation rates and perform a preliminary analysis of microbiology and geochemistry in the overlying ice [Woodward et al, 2010;Ross et al, 2011a].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Siegert

Clarke

Mowlem

et al. 2012

Reviews of Geophysics

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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.

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Section: Geophysical Surveys Of Lake Ellsworthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ice Cores and Lake Biogeochemistrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Siegert

Clarke

Mowlem

et al. 2012

Reviews of Geophysics

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“…Remote sensing and field surveys have identified ∼400 lakes beneath the Antarctic ice sheet ( Smith et al, 2009 ; Wright and Siegert, 2012 ), provided evidence for the widespread occurrence of water-saturated sediments (e.g., Studinger et al, 2001 ), and demonstrated hydrologic connections between certain lakes ( Fricker et al, 2007 ). The abundance of water and availability of metabolic energy sources beneath the ice sheet ( Bell, 2008 ; Smith et al, 2009 ; Skidmore, 2011 ; Palmer et al, 2013 ) supports the possibility for microbial ecosystems and has motivated international exploration efforts in West and East Antarctica ( Fricker et al, 2011 ; Lukin and Bulat, 2011 ; Ross et al, 2011 ). Although little information has been available to infer conditions in Antarctica’s vast and complex subglacial aquifer, microbial cells inhabiting this biome are estimated at ∼10 29 ( Priscu et al, 2008 ), a value similar to global estimates for open ocean waters ( Whitman et al, 1998 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial Community Structure of Subglacial Lake Whillans, West Antarctica

et al. 2016

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Subglacial Lake Whillans (SLW) is located beneath ∼800 m of ice on the Whillans Ice Stream in West Antarctica and was sampled in January of 2013, providing the first opportunity to directly examine water and sediments from an Antarctic subglacial lake. To minimize the introduction of surface contaminants to SLW during its exploration, an access borehole was created using a microbiologically clean hot water drill designed to reduce the number and viability of microorganisms in the drilling water. Analysis of 16S rRNA genes (rDNA) amplified from samples of the drilling and borehole water allowed an evaluation of the efficacy of this approach and enabled a confident assessment of the SLW ecosystem inhabitants. Based on an analysis of 16S rDNA and rRNA (i.e., reverse-transcribed rRNA molecules) data, the SLW community was found to be bacterially dominated and compositionally distinct from the assemblages identified in the drill system. The abundance of bacteria (e.g., Candidatus Nitrotoga, Sideroxydans, Thiobacillus, and Albidiferax) and archaea (Candidatus Nitrosoarchaeum) related to chemolithoautotrophs was consistent with the oxidation of reduced iron, sulfur, and nitrogen compounds having important roles as pathways for primary production in this permanently dark ecosystem. Further, the prevalence of Methylobacter in surficial lake sediments combined with the detection of methanogenic taxa in the deepest sediment horizons analyzed (34–36 cm) supported the hypothesis that methane cycling occurs beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Large ratios of rRNA to rDNA were observed for several operational taxonomic units abundant in the water column and sediments (e.g., Albidiferax, Methylobacter, Candidatus Nitrotoga, Sideroxydans, and Smithella), suggesting a potentially active role for these taxa in the SLW ecosystem. Our findings are consistent with chemosynthetic microorganisms serving as the ecological foundation in this dark subsurface environment, providing new organic matter that sustains a microbial ecosystem beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

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“…These include the Lake Vostok programme funded by the Russian Antarctic Federation (Lukin & Bulat 2011), the Lake Ellsworth programme funded by the United Kingdom's Natural Environment Research Council (Ross et al . 2011), and the Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling (WISSARD) project, funded by the United States National Science Foundation (Fricker et al . 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A microbiologically clean strategy for access to the Whillans Ice Stream subglacial environment

et al. 2013

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Abstract:The Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling (WISSARD) project will test the overarching hypothesis that an active hydrological system exists beneath a West Antarctic ice stream that exerts a major control on ice dynamics, and the metabolic and phylogenetic diversity of the microbial community in subglacial water and sediment. WISSARD will explore Subglacial Lake Whillans (SLW, unofficial name) and its outflow toward the grounding line where it is thought to enter the Ross Ice Shelf seawater cavity. Introducing microbial contamination to the subglacial environment during drilling operations could compromise environmental stewardship and the science objectives of the project, consequently we developed a set of tools and procedures to directly address these issues. WISSARD hot water drilling efforts will include a custom water treatment system designed to remove micron and sub-micron sized particles (biotic and abiotic), irradiate the drilling water with germicidal ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and pasteurize the water to reduce the viability of persisting microbial contamination. Our clean access protocols also include methods to reduce microbial contamination on the surfaces of cables/hoses and down-borehole equipment using germicidal UV exposure and chemical disinfection. This paper presents experimental data showing that our protocols will meet expectations established by international agreement between participating Antarctic nations.

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Ellsworth Subglacial Lake, West Antarctica: A review of its history and recent field campaigns

Cited by 12 publications

References 20 publications

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

Microbial Community Structure of Subglacial Lake Whillans, West Antarctica

A microbiologically clean strategy for access to the Whillans Ice Stream subglacial environment

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