Engineering Team for Lake Ellsworth Drilling Project Completes Deep-Field Expedition
17.01.2012 - Logistics, Ice & Snow, Antarctic
Four engineers from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have returned to the UK after completing a journey to one of the harshest parts of Antarctica to put in place equipment and supplies for the Lake Ellsworth Subglacial Lake drilling project, which will explore an ancient lake buried 3 km deep in the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
Braving temperatures of -35°C, the Lake Ellsworth Advance Party towed nearly 70 tons of equipment more than 250 km across the ice sheet and through the Ellsworth Mountain range to the drilling point. Thanks to the Advance Party’s transporting the equipment and winterizing so it will survive the harsh Antarctic winter, everything is now in place for researchers to drill into the subglacial lake starting in December 2012 during the 2012-2013 Antarctic season.
Lake Ellsworth will be the first subglacial lake in Antarctica to be measured and sampled directly using space-industry standard 'clean technology'. The team will use high-pressure hot water to drill the hole before lowering a titanium probe to measure and sample the water. They will also use a corer to extract sediment from the lake.
For more than 15 years, scientists have been interested in taking samples from the lake in order to find out more about the evolution of life on Earth and even other planets as well as past climates, as subglacial lakes have been sealed off for the outside world for millions of years. Scientists are interested in seeing if unique forms of microbial life have been able to evolve in these unique environments, according to lead investigator for the Lake Ellsworth project, Prof. Martin Siegert form the University of Edinburgh. Sediment samples could also provide information on the history of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which could provide insight into future sea level rise.
