GBASE Project to Investigate Subglacial Environments in Antarctica
30.11.2009 - Water & Oceans, Ice & Snow, Flora & Fauna, Other, Antarctic
A team of researchers representing nine institutions have embarked on a project to drill through the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica to gain access to a subglacial lake and cavity below the ice shelf. A part of the WISSARD (Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling) project, the GBASE (GeomicroBiology of Antarctic Subglacial Environments) project will be focusing on the microbes located in this frozen environment.
GBASE will be examining distinct yet hydrologically-related subglacial environments and assessing their biodiversity, revealing how these environments function in permanent cold and darkness and their contribution to furnishing nutrients in the sea. Because the environment of the lake needs to be preserved, the team is currently building a special hot water drill, which will use sterilized water to drill to the base of the ice sheet and prevent contamination.
Scientifically linked to LISSARD (Lake and Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling) and RAGES (Robot Access to Grounding-zones for Exploration and Science), two other projects within the framework of WISSARD and GBASE will be providing information on what could very well be one of the last unexplored aquatic environments on Earth.
