all about lake vostok in antarctic a

7/31/2019 All About Lake Vostok in Antarctic A

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byHarry Mason4-18-1

fromRenseWebsiteDear Jeff,

I have received several e-mails from irate Antarctic personnel and others upset at"MY" article re Lake Vostock and "NSA Overide-Coverup" as shown on your web

site. Basically they seem to think that I verified and am the source of the"anonymous NSA Overide-Coverup" story that started this entire discussion -which I was NOT !!!Whilst reviewing the recent post on your web site it has become obvious that theex-Nexus ex-Scientific American ex-anonymous (believed to be an NASA-JPLinsider) "NSA Overide-Coverup" story line as reproduced there DOES give theimpression that I have written it and verified it.

I am sure that this is purely an editing error whilst attempting to cull the variousdispatches forwarded to you by me a few months ago. In fact, I DID NOT write it,NOR have I verified its veracity. AND, in later emails on the subject matter overthe last few months I have raised several redflag outpoints concerning differentaspects of this allegedly true "NSA Overide-Coverup" Anon story.

In short, I am reasonably certain that 90% of the original anonymous story is aconcocted piece of bullshit that was fostered upon Nexus Magazinevia ScientificAmerican magazinefrom person(s) unknown for reasons unknown.

The story of the re-forced repatriation of the two female Antarctic skiers, thealleged "pulled" satellite image, the location of the Lake Vostock camp andmagnetic anomaly, and the original dispatch's apparent legal NASA advisoryreport number are all seriously flawed and quite untrue aspects of thisanonymous story. Thus, there appear to be enough outpoints to junk the entirestory. This was not the case when I first received it a few months ago - but hasbeen the case since a week after my first dispatch on this matter.

Some basic aspects of the original anonymousstoryARE factual e.g.: regardingthe Lake Vostok magnetic anomaly and potential environmental dangers ofdrilling there. What I have done is to append to my advisory e-mails to you andothers on this anonymous storyline MY OWN views on geological aspects andINFO from my discussions on matters geological with Prof. Thomas Gold (whichhe was keen to see go public) as regards to the Lake Vostok magnetic anomalyand the possible truth of the environmental gas emission dangers reported in thisanonymous story.
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I append below relevant quotes from my various e-mails on this subject for yourinfo. Perhaps you could post this correction onto the same page as the LakeVostok storyto clear up any misunderstanding that might arise in your readersminds as to the EXACT origins of the original anonymousLake Vostok story line,and my personal beliefs as to it's veracity.

Regards,Harry Mason

Excerpts from my more recent private discussion e-mails to Nexus Magazine personnel(JeffRense - and others) on the Lake Vostok NSA Over-Ride story line:

Re: the two women skiing across the ice shelf scenario - they were interviewedon Australian ABC news a few days ago after being dropped off at an AustralianAntarctic base by the US "rescue" team. I saw this news segment.

They stated they personally requested airlift as their progress had been slowerthan anticipated and they were in danger from rapidly advancing winter storms.Once these hit you are isolated from air or ground rescue for months. Theyappeared quite relaxed but wistful about their need for rescue - did not appear"got at" - but who knows ???

I have previously seen the most outrageous lies propagated by our ABC TVNews overthe AUM sect and Banjawarn Station Sarin Nerve gas stories. Mypersonal field research interviewed the Banjawarn Station people (indigenousand white) and uncovered a huge series of lies aired knowingly by the ABC - sowho knows on this Antarctic scenario??? But I begin to suspect we should redflag this story as of doubtful veracity!!!

Just another point about the "Space Mapping Mission of Antarctica Aborted Dueto NSA Over-Ride" story.

The letter states that,"The linked photo at the end was released by NASA in Jan 2001seemingly by mistake. It is no longer available from the officialarchive"!!!

Yet take a look at this reproduction of an official NASA web site of the EXACTSAME radarsat image and the attached section (58.1Kb jpg) image I just cut outtoday (1-03-2001 - 2.00pm) from the Vostock High Resolution Bird's Eye View Tif(3.8Mb) that I downloaded today fromhttp://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=9896.

Thus it has NOT been pulled as the anonymous "NSA Over-Ride" story alleges..........

Further - a close inspection reveals a road running diagonally from SW to NEacross the lake (smoothed out on anonymous original jpg - but just visible therealso) that originates at a camp site in the SW corner of the lake with a NNWtrending "airstrip" ???

The road continues NE off of the field of the image. I suspect that the imageprovided by anonymous has incorrectly labeled the SW airstrip and camp as the"Magnetic Anomaly" and has most certainly placed Vostok Station (Russia) withan arrow pointing where there is nothing but Ice.
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Incidentally elsewhere in NASA literature Vostok Station is said to be situated atthe southern end of the lake and if NASA followed convention with it's imageorientation then Vostok Station is where the airstrip-camp site show in the SWpart of the lake. In other words who ever wrote up the story line did NOT knowmuch about the correct location of things around lake Vostok.

Also the Russians have drilled down 3600 meters since the lake discovery in the1970's (to some 400 meters??? above the liquid lake surface) with preserved icecores being sent to Montana State University a few years ago. These have beenanalyzed and they found various gases locked up in the ice (including methane).

Due to the above errors about the so called missing(removed) imageand thelocation of sites around Lake Vostok I am inclined to place a very large red flagagainst this anonymous post. Do you have any corroborative data for the originalpremise of NSA Over-Ride and the removal from stage of DebraShingteller..................

A friend has found NASA Press Release 01-24 from Feb 21-2001 which I copy below for yourinfo. This is where the first part of David's original anonymouspostcame from - namely thenames and addresses of David E. Steitz and Rosemary Sullivent followed by the Release - 01-24 number.

It does not prove that David's post from the anonymous editor source is a fake however - sincethe body of his anonymous letter states who it came from - but it is a tad worrying as to why it wasinserted in a manner that "appears" to give official status number 01-24 to the title "SPACEMAPPING MISSION OF ANTARCTICA ABORTED DUE TO NSA OVER-RIDE" .

When the actual title of NASA Release 01-24 is (as seen below) "SPACE MAPPING MISSIONCATCHES ANTARCTICA IN MOTION"

Personally I would like to see some more backing for the original press conference - anonymousstory?? Have you got any more info?? Just two extra points re Vostok story.

I have just readthe story in the Antarctic Sun. I quote from there:"The evidence is a huge magnetic anomaly on the east coast of the lake'sshoreline. As the first SOAR flight crossed over to the lake's east side, themagnetometer dial swung suddenly. The readings changed almost 1,000nanotesla from the normal 60,000 nanoteslas around Vostok. A teslais thestandard measure of magnetism. Studinger typically finds anomalies of 500-to-600 nanotesla in places where volcanic material has poured out of the ground

"When we first saw this huge magnetic anomaly, that was veryexciting," Studinger said.

Usually magnetic anomalies are much smaller and it takes some effort todistinguish the anomaly from normal daily changes in the magnetic field. In thiscase there was no confusion.

"This anomaly is so big that it can't be caused by a daily changein the magnetic field," Studinger said.

The anomaly was big in another way, encompassing the entire Southeast cornerof the lake, about (65 b 46 miles) 105 km by 75 km (click below image). The size
http://getpage%28%27http//antarcticsun.usap.gov/oldissues2000-2001/2001_0204/soar.html',700,500);http://getpage%28%27http//antarcticsun.usap.gov/oldissues2000-2001/2001_0204/soar.html',700,500);http://getpage%28%27http//antarcticsun.usap.gov/oldissues2000-2001/2001_0204/soar.html',700,500);http://getpage%28%27http//antarcticsun.usap.gov/oldissues2000-2001/2001_0204/soar.html',700,500);


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and extremity of the magnetic anomaly indicated the geological structure changesbeneath the lake, and Studinger guessed it might be a region where the earth'scrust is thinner.

To create the type of topography found at Lake Vostok, the earth's crust wasprobably stretched, thinning one to three percent as it pulled taut, Studinger said."

I (HM) deal with interpreting aeromagnetic imagery daily in my mineral exploration work here inOZ. The huge size and intensity of the above mentioned magnetic anomaly strongly suggests avery large ultrabasic complex is present below this section of lake Vostok in the continental crustalrock surface i.e. at the old land surface -pre ice level.

This would fit with the apparently tensional pull-apart rifted tectonic style of the lake geo-environment and would probably represent a major mantle derived plume of ultrabasic intrusivesalong the lines of Prof Careys Expanding Earth diapirs- this fits the stretched crust model notedby Studinger above.

As such it would also fit Prof. Gold's hypothesis that there is a substantial - possibly world climatedangerous amount if released - volume of methane (as hydrate at the expected temperatures???) plus oil and other exotic gas (He, X, etc) component to the hot water lake - sourced from theMantle-Core along the upwelling structural plumbing.

The reported "ice boils" could easily be composed of gaseous plumes frozen into the ice -arrested as it were in their upwards progress - initially as hot water gas mixtures but cooled by thesurrounding ice until their water content froze and they could no longer melt (i.e. rise) through theice above them.

As such these ice boils could represent fascinating analogies with granite intrusive plumes inmountain belts - both "boils" rise due to their heat melting above rock (ice) layers whilst their lowerdensity relative to enclosing rocks causes a gravity gradient and drives their upward motion untilthey crystallize (freeze).

The ice "dunes" look like flat ice folded under stress - also analogous to folds in sediments inmountain belts around the planet - possibly due to gravity sliding away from the upwelling diaperof lake Vostok???

--Original Message--From: Nexus Magazine-UKTo:[email protected]

Editor disclaimer:Yet unable to confirm authenticity of JPL source2/24/01 6:23:56 PM Pacific Standard TimeThis was sent to me. Where it came from I don't know yet.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/imagenes_antartica/vostok.jpgmailto:[email protected]


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David E. SteitzNexus MagazineHeadquarters, Washington, DCFebruary 21, 2001Phone: 202 358-1730

Space-Mapping Mission of Antarctica Aborted -Overruled by The NSAContact: Rosemary SullivantJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CAPhone 818/354-0747

RELEASE: 01-24-01

In a brief announcement today, NASA and the JPL terminated allfurther study of Lake Vostok in S. Antarctica. In an apparent slipof confidentiality, spokeswoman Debra Shingteller alluded to"National Security Issues" allowing the NSA to assume fullcontrol of what had been an International effort to explore a huge,under-ice lake near the Russian Vostok research station.

Ms. Shingteller was immediately led away from the podium, andan aid responded to the many further questions with the sameanswer: "the project has been halted due to environmentalissues", and that no further releases were pending. The largecrowd of press corp. were left clamoring as the officials left thestage. Ms. Shingteller has not responded to repeated attempts atcontact.

The above is a report from an official JPL PR representative whoattended the announcement.

The following is part of a letter written to an editor of ScientificAmerican Magazine(who has requested anonymity). The linkedphoto at the end was released by NASA in Jan 2001 seeminglyby mistake. It is no longer available from the official archive...

(Click below satellite images of Lake Vostok)

Approximately 300 miles from the South Polethere is a lake, a very large lake. It is LakeVostok. It is also located over 3/4 mile beneaththe Continental Ice Sheet. The best photos ofLake Vostok are from space, where the outline isclearly visible. Current ice-penetrating radarstudies indicate that the water is up to 2000 ft
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deep in places, and has an over-arching domeup to 1/2 mile high.

Estimates for filtered light at the lake surfaceindicate something like "continuous first morninglight" during Antarctica's summer months.

Thermograph imaging proposes an amazing 50-degree average water temperature with "hotspots" near 65 degrees. This can only beattributed to subsurface geothermal heatsources. At 300 miles long, and 50 miles wide,the encapsulated atmosphereshould have theability to cleanse itself through interaction withthe lake, and possibly... plant life.

Also proposed as a possible route foratmospheric interaction with the lake'senvironment are what are being labeled"geothermal boils". These are thousands of

bubbles in the ice sheet located in the some 200sq. miles of "ice dunes" discovered by the lateRussian scientist Ivan Toskovoi who wasstationed at Vostok research base until hisdisappearance in March 2000. The surveyedbubbles range from a few to several hundredfeet in diameter.

Quite possibly just as exciting as all of the datarelated so far, is the discovery through MagneticImagingthat there is an extremely powerfulsource of magnetic energy located at the Northend of the lake's shoreline. As of this writing, noone has suggested an explanation for the

magnetic "anomaly".

As recently as February 2000, at least twointernational teams were planning separateprobes of the lake. Both consisted of fairly similarrobotic sensors that would have been loweredthrough shafts (to be drilled). The team based atCambridge University, London were sponsoredby the UK and US governments, and backed byNASA technology.

For reasons not clear, both programs have beenshelved indefinitely, with NASA going so far as to

deny any involvement, and both governmentsciting "environmental concerns". An independentsource that visited Norway's research base some150 miles to the East stated that a large amountof new equipment and personnel have beenarriving at Russia's Vostok Station over the lastsix months. This is interesting consideringRussia's current financial situation.


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A final note is a verified dispatch out of CaseyStation(AU). The pair of women adventurerswho were attempting to ski across the continentlast month, and were extracted by plane duringthe last leg of their trip, did NOT request theintervention.

Over the protests of the Australian crew atCasey, the two were airlifted via an extraordinary48 hour flight by a USN Special Forces team outof American Samoa. According to the dispatchthe women were insistent on reportingsomething unusual they had seen. The latestnews reports have the pair resting in "seclusion".

Lake Vostok: A Curiosity or a Focus forInterdisciplinary Study?

The lost world of lake Vostok radio echo sounding of ice deciphering mysteriesof past climate from Antarctic ice cores Antarctica's lake vostok exploring lakevostok scientists say Antarctic lake worth a look-see warm lake found under

Antarctic ice sheet frozen time capsule from lake vostok arrives at Montana stateuniversity bacteria may thrive in Antarctic lake the frosty plains of Europe

The following e-mail reflects Professor Thomas Gold's views on the subject of the above NexusMagazine Lake Vostock post data. Professor Gold and I have entered into a long e-mail debateover Martian Water & Palaeo Seas/planetary wide Ice sheetsand have discussed at length histheories of continuously renewed Earth Core-Mantle derived methane and oil - as opposed to thefinite volume squashed bug/plant theories of the origin of oil - extant in western oil companydominated science.

Prof Gold had previously stated his belief to me that Lake Vostock could contain large amounts of

methane under pressure and that drilling into same might represent a hazardous operation.....See his various oil & gas papers (including reasons for magnetite concentrations) athttp//www.people.cornell.edu/pages/tg21

Dear Mr. Mason:

Thank you for this fascinating information.

I had previously considered informing the Vostok investigators, Russian, UK, US,that there was a severe hazard that above the water there would most likely be alarge amount of methane, and breaking into that would be very hazardous. It mayof course be so large an amount that letting it out would make a severe change ofatmospheric chemistry, and hence of climate.

The bubbles in the ice, the large dome, and the magnetic anomaly all point to

such a situation. Most permafrost regions have methane underneath them, andthis would be by far the largest of them. May be the scientist who vanishedcrashed into a methane ice bubble. Large deposits of magnetite are common inmethane-rich regions, being produced from iron oxides acting as oxygen donor tomicrobes that live on the oxidation of methane.

If you have the contacts, feel free, or even encouraged, to distribute this letter toother parties in this business, together with my name. I don't wish to hide behindanonymity.
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Yours sincerely,Thomas Gold2-28-01

(Here is the original story on rense.comabout the exploration of Lake Vostok. -ed)

Antarctic Lake Isolated 40 Million YearsTo Be Exploredby Roger HighfieldThe Electronic Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk9-21-99

Scientists are to explore one of the world's last uncharted natural wonders, a lake trappedbeneath the Antarctic ice.

Eighty scientists from 14 countries will meet in Cambridge next week to discuss how to study thestrange life expected to lurk in Lake Vostok, a body of water the size of Lake Ontario resting morethan two miles under the East Antarctic ice cap. The lake is one of the world's 10 largest and oneof about 80 lakes that underlie 10 per cent of the ice sheet of Antarctica.

Lake Vostok formed as a result of the combination of overlying pressure of ice and heat from theEarth's core. It fascinates scientists because it appears to have been isolated for millions of years,providing an opportunity for life to develop along a separate evolutionary path.

Micro-organisms that have been isolated for between one and 40 million years may be found in itssediments and water, potentially yielding promising new enzymes or antibiotics, and offeringviews of how ancient and contemporary microbes differ, says Cynan Ellis-Evans, who isorganizing the conference at Lucy Cavendish College.

Dr Ellis-Evans, a microbiologist with the British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, said the conditionsin the lake are probably too barren and cold - sub-zero - for larger organisms to evolve.

"It could be one of the most extreme, nutrient poor, permanently pressurized,permanently cold, permanently dark environments on the planet."

This would lead to slow-growing microbes that are adapted to a life of starvation. However, if avolcanic or hot spring system pumped in energy, a greater diversity of creatures may be present.

Lake Vostok is likely to be the oldest of all the "sub-glacial" ice lakes because of its size. If it hasbeen isolated for 40 million years, there would have been enough time for unique creatures toevolve, as opposed to creatures that have adapted to a new environment. The Antarctic studiesmay be a prelude to similar missions elsewhere in our solar system, notably toJupiter's moonEuropa. NASA regards the Vostok mission as a test-bed for the search for alien life on the oceansthought to exist on Europa.

The Vostok exploration would take place in the next five years. The exploration of Europawouldbe in a series of missions beginning in 2003 and lasting for 15 years.

Dr Ellis-Evans said:"All the NASA people I am talking to are very enthusiastic about an icepenetration mission in 2015. I have no problem with the basic idea that there maybe microbial life somewhere like Europa as good life markers exist there, notably
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liquid water, organic molecules and chemical energy sources."

The first entry of a probe into Lake Vostok will require extraordinary precautions to ensure that thevehicle and its instruments are clean, so as not to contaminate the pristine lake. One suggestionis to use a Cryobot, a 10ft 6in pencil-shaped device with a heated tip that unspools a cablecarrying power and a fiber-optic video and data cable.

The Cryobot splits into two under the ice and the top half stays at the ice-water interface to huntfor life. The lower part (the point of the pencil) continues down a smaller cable until it hits thesediment at the bottom, where it will also search for life and release a Hydrobot, a tiny submarineequipped with sonar and a camera.

The Hydrobot rises like a soap bubble, reporting what it sees above and below it.Return to Antarctica

RediscoveredReturn to The NSA - The Super Secret National

Security Agency

Robin E. Bell - David M. KarlLake Vostok Workshop

NSFWashington D.C.

November 7 & 8, 1998fromLamont-DohertyEarthObservatoryWebsite
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Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary2. Introduction3. Preliminary Science Plan and Timeline4. Lake Vostok: Background Information5. Group Reports

6. Appendices1. Presentations on Why Lake Vostok?2. Workshop Program3. Workshop participants

7. Acknowledgements8. References9. Background Reading - Key Articles

Return to Return to Antarctica RediscoveredReturn to Temas / La Tierra

(1) Executive Summary

Life continues to appear in the unusual and extreme locations from hot vents on the seafloor toice covered hypersaline lakes in Antarctica (Priscu et al., 1998). The subglacial environmentrepresents one of the most oligotrophic environments on earth, an environment with low nutrientlevels and low standing stocks of viable organisms. It is also one of the least accessible habitats.

Recently the significance of understanding subglacial communities has been highlighted bydiscoveries including the thriving bacterial communities beneath alpine glaciers (Sharp et al.,1999), to the evidence from African stratigraphy for a Neoproterozoic snowball earth (Hoffman etal., 1998a, Kirschvink, 1992) to the compelling ice images fromEuropa, the icy moon of Jupiter. Iflife thrives in these environments it may have to depend on alternative energy sources andsurvival strategies. Identifying these strategies will provide new insights into the energy balance oflife.

The identification of significant subglacial bacterial action (Sharp et al., 1999) as well the work onpermafrost communities (i.e. Gilichinsky et al., 1995) suggests that life can survive and possiblythrive at low temperatures. Neither the alpine subglacial environment nor the permafrostenvironment is as extreme as the environment found beneath a continent-wide ice sheet asAntarctica today.

The alpine subglacial environment has a continual high level of flux of nutrients from surfacecrevasses. The Antarctic subglacial environment lacks a rapid flux of surface meltwater andsubsequently is more isolated. In addition to being more isolated, the Antarctic subglacialenvironment is a high pressure region due to the overburden of ice.

The Antarctic subglacial environment may be similar to the environment beneath the widespreadice sheets in the Neoproterozoic, a time period from about 750 to 543 million years ago. It hasbeen suggested that during this period the earth experienced a number of massive glaciations -covering much of the planet for approximately 10 million years at a time. The evidence for an
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ancient ice covered planet comes from thick widespread sedimentary sequences deposited at thebase of large ice bodies.

These glacial units alternate with thick carbonates units-warm shallow water sedimentarydeposits. These paired sequences have been interpreted as representing a long period when theearth alternated between from an extremely cold, completely ice covered planet (the snowball

earth) and a hothouse planet (Hoffman et al, 1998b). Some speculate that the extremes of theseclimates introduced an intense environmental filter, possibly linked to a metazoan radiation priorto the final glaciation and an Ediacaran radiation (Hofmann et al., 1990; Knoll, 1992).

Portions of the Antarctic continental subglacial environment today, which have been isolated fromfree exchange with the atmosphere for at least 10 million years, are similar to the environment inthis ancient global environment. Understanding the environmental stresses and the response ofthe microbes in a modern extreme subglacial environment will help us decipher the processeswhich lead to the post-glacial evolutionary radiation over 500 million years ago.

The third important analogue for modern Antarctic subglacial environments is from the outerreaches of the solar system, the ice moon of Jupiter, Europa. Recent images resembling sea ice,combined with the very high albedo of this moon has lead to the interpretation that this moon is

ice covered. Beneath the ice covering Europa is believed to be an ocean. The thick cover of iceover a liquid ocean may be a fertile site for life (Chyba, 1996; Williams et al., 1997). TheAntarctica subglacial lakes have similar basic boundary conditions to Europa.

An investigation of Antarctic subglacial environments should target the unique role these lakesmay have in terms of the triggers for rapid evolutionary radiation, for understanding the globalcarbon cycle through major glaciations and as an analogue for major planetary bodies.

Lake Vostok is a large (10,000 km2) water body located beneath ~4 km of glacial ice at 77

oS,

105oE within the East Antarctica Precambrian craton (Kapitsa et al., 1996). Based on limited

geophysical data, it has been suggested that the Lake occupies a structural depression, perhapsa tectonically active rift.

The water depth varies from approximately 500 m beneath Vostok Station to a few 10s of metersat the northern end of the Lake; the ice sheet thickness also varies by nearly 400 m and isthickest in the north (4,150 m). Ice motion across the lake, freezing and melting at the base of theice sheet and geothermal heating could establish density-driven flows, large scale circulation andgeochemical gradients in Lake Vostok.


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Figure 1:

ERS-1 Surface Altimetry indicating location of Lake Vostok

The existence of this lake, and at least 76 others like it, has been documented by extensiveairborne 60 MHz radio-echo sounding records that provide coarse sampling coverage ofapproximately half of the Antarctic ice sheet (Siegert et al., 1996). The majority of sub-glacial

lakes are near ice divides at Dome C and Ridge B, East Antarctica.

More recently, the European Research Satellite-1 (ERS-1, Figure 1) has provided radar altimeterdata which provide unprecedented detail of ice surface elevations. These data have been used todefine the physical dimensions of the lake, its drainage basin, and predict lake water density(Kapitsa et al., 1996).

The water body appears to be fresh. Based on considerations of temperature and pressure fields,most of the dissolved gases in the lake would be present as hydrates, which may be segregatedin density layers. The unique geochemical setting of Lake Vostok may present an opportunity anda challenge for the development of novel life forms.

Lake Vostok, due to its size, is the lake which is most likely to have remained liquid during

changes in the Antarctic ice sheet volume and therefore most likely to provide new insights intothese subglacial environments. We understand much more about the subglacial processes suchas accretion and melting within Lake Vostok than any other lake, and we have a solid localclimate record for the last 400,000 years from the overlying ice core (Petit et al., 1999).


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Figure 2:

Location of subglacial lakes in Antarctica determined from the NSF/SPRI airborne radar program.The radar flight lines are shown in the inset on the lower left. (adapted from Siegert et al., 1996)

An international team of scientists and engineers has been drilling the ice sheet above LakeVostok to obtain a detailed record of the past climate on earth. This ice-core program, started in1989, recently terminated drilling at a 3,623 m depth (approximately 120 m above the ice-waterinterface at this location). This is the deepest ice core ever recovered.

The ice core corresponds to an approximately 400,000 year environmental record, including fourcomplete ice age climate cycles. Below 3,538 m there is morphological and physical evidence thatbasal ice is comprised of re-frozen Lake Vostok water.

Throughout most of the ice core, even to depths of 2,400 m, viable microorganisms are present(Abyzov, 1993). Previous sampling of ice in the interior of the Antarctic continent has repeatedlydemonstrated that microorganisms characteristic of atmospheric microflora are present. Air-to-land deposition and accumulation is indicated, rather than in situ growth in the ice (Lacy et al.,

1970; Cameron et al., 1972).

Cameron and Morelli (1974) also studied 1 million year old Antarctic permafrost and recoveredviable microorganisms. Prolonged preservation of viable microorganisms may be prevalent inAntarctic ice-bound habitats. Consequently, it is possible that microorganisms may be present inLake Vostok and other Antarctic subglacial lakes. However, isolation from exogenous sources ofcarbon and solar energy, and the known or suspected extreme physical and geochemicalcharacteristics, may have precluded the development of a functional ecosystem in Lake Vostok.

In fact, subglacial lakes may be among the most oligotrophic (low nutrient and low standing stocksof viable organisms) habitats on earth. Although hotspots of geothermal activity could providelocal sources of energy and growth-favorable temperatures, in a manner that is analogous toenvironmental conditions surrounding deep sea hydrothermal vents (Karl, 1995), it is important toemphasize that without direct measurements, the possible presence of fossil or livingmicroorganisms in these habitats isolated from external input for nearly 500,000 years isspeculation.

Lake Vostok may represent an unique region for detailed scientific investigation for the followingreasons:

it may be an active tectonic rift which would alter our understanding of the East Antarcticgeologic terrains

it may contain a sedimentary record of earths climate, especially critical information about
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the initiation of Antarctic glaciation it may be an undescribed extreme earth habitat with unique geochemical characteristics it may contain novel, previously undescribed, relic or fossil microorganisms with unique

adaptive strategies for life it may be a useful earth-based analogue and technology test-bed to guide the design of

unmanned, planetary missions to recently discovered ice-covered seas on the Jovian

moon, Europa.These diverse characteristics and potential opportunities have captivated the public and motivatedan interdisciplinary group of scientists to begin planning a more comprehensive investigation ofthese unusual subglacial habitats. As part of this overall planning effort, a NSF-sponsoredworkshop was held in Washington, D.C. (7-8 Nov. 1998) to evaluate whether Lake Vostok is acuriosity or a focal point for sustained, interdisciplinary scientific investigation.

Because Lake Vostok is located in one of the most remote locations on earth and is covered by athick blanket of ice, study of the lake itself that includes in situ measurements and sample returnwould require a substantive investment in logistical support, and, hence financial resources.

Over a period of two days, a spirited debate was held on the relative merits of such an investmentof intellectual and fiscal resources in the study of Lake Vostok. The major recommendations of

this workshop were: To broaden the scientific community knowledgeable of Lake Vostok by publicizing the

scientific findings highlighted at this workshop.

To initiate work on sampling, measurement and contamination control technologies so thatthe Lake can be realistically and safely sampled.

Both NASA and NSF should prepare separate, or a joint, announcement of opportunity forthe study of Lake Vostok, possibly through the LExEn program.

Back to Contents

(2) Introduction

The goal of the workshop was to stimulate discussion within the U.S. science community on LakeVostok, specifically addressing the question:

Is Lake Vostok a natural curiosity or an opportunity for uniquely posedinterdisciplinary scientific programs?

The workshop was designed to outline an interdisciplinary science plan for studies of the lake.The structure of the workshop was a series of background talks on subjects including:

Review of Lake Vostok Studies - Robin E. Bell

The Overlying Ice: Melting and Freezing - Martin Siegert

Evidence from the Vostok Ice Core Studies - Jean Robert Petit

Tectonic Setting of Lake Vostok - Ian Dalziel

Biodiversity and Extreme Niches for Life - Jim Tiedje

Lake Vostok Planetary Analogs - Frank Carsey

Identification of Life - David White

Mircrobial Contamination Control - Roger Kern

A summary of each of these background talks is presented in this report Section (4) entitled:Lake Vostok: Background Information.

Following these talks each workshop participant presented a 3 minute, one overhead presentationof why, from their perspective, Lake Vostok was more than a curiosity, and warranted significanteffort to study. These presentations ranged from discussion of helium emerging from the mantle,to the unique temperature and density structure which might develop in such an isolated high
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pressure, fresh water environment as Lake Vostok. Written summaries of these presentations andkey illustrations are included in Appendix 1 entitled Why Lake Vostok?.

Next, the workshop participants as a large group, identified the fundamental aspects of a researchprogram across Lake Vostok with each participant presenting five key ideas. These ideas weresynthesized into 6 major themes which became the subject of working groups.

The working groups and their members were:1. Geochemistry-Mahlon C. Kennicutt II, Berry Lyons, Jean Robert Petit, Todd Sowers2. Biodiversity-Dave Emerson, Cynan Ellis-Evans, Roger Kern, Jos de la Torre, Diane

McKnight, Roger Olsen3. Sediment Characterization - Luanne Becker, Peter Doran, David Karl, Kate Moran, Kim

Tiedje, Mary Voytek4. Modeling - David Holland, Christina Hulbe5. Site Survey - Robin Bell, Ron Kwok, Martin Siegert, Brent Turrin6. Technology Development - Eddy Carmack, Frank Carsey, Mark Lupisella, Steve Platt,

Frank Rack, David WhiteEach group was tasked with developing: a) justification for a Lake Vostok effort; b) the goals of aresearch effort; c) a strategy to meet the goals; and d) a time-frame for the effort. In addition, the

groups were tasked with presenting the single most compelling scientific justification for studyingLake Vostok.

The groups worked through the morning of the second day preparing draft presentations. Thedraft reports were presented in plenary at the conclusion of the workshop. The reports from theworking groups are found in Section 6, Group Reports. The workshop participants debated the

justifications and the major obstacles to studying Lake Vostok.

The discussion of the major obstacle to advancing a well developed scientific justification and planto study Lake Vostok hinged on several major factors including:

the exploratory nature of the program coupled with the paucity of data about this unknownregion making development of a detailed scientific justification difficult

the need for technological developments to ensure contamination control and sample

retrieval, recognizing that Lake Vostok is a unique system whose pristine nature must bepreserved the need for a strong consensus within the U.S. science community that Lake Vostok

represents an important system to study, and recognition that international collaborationis a necessary component of any study

the recognition that the logistical impact of a Lake Vostok program will be significant andthat the scientific justification must compete solidly with other ongoing and emergingprograms

that the lack of understanding of the present state of knowledge of the Lake as a systemwithin the U.S. science community remains a difficulty in building community support andmomentum for such a large program.

These obstacles were addressed in workshop discussions and are specifically addressed in thereport recommendations, the draft science plan and the proposed timeline. The preliminaryscience plan and timeline was based on working group reports and is presented below in Section(3) "Preliminary Science Plan and Timeline ".

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(3) Preliminary Science Plan and Timeline


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This preliminary science plan is based on a synthesis of working group reports. The overarchinggoal of the science plan is to understand the history and dynamics of the Lake Vostok as theculmination of a unique suite of geological and glaciological factors. These factors may haveproduced an unusual ecological niche isolated from major external inputs. The system structuremay be uniquely developed due to stratification of gas hydrates.

Specific scientific targets to accomplish this goal include: determine the geologic origin of Lake Vostok within the framework of an improved

understanding of the East Antarctic continent as related to boundary conditions for a LakeVostok ecosystem

develop an improved understanding of the glaciological history of the lake including theflux of water, sediment, nutrients and microbes into a Lake Vostok ecosystem

characterize the structure of the lakes water column, to evaluate the possibility of densitydriven circulation associated with melting/freezing processes or geothermal heat, thepotential presence of stratified gas hydrates, and the origin and cycling of organic carbon

establish the structure and functional diversity of any Lake Vostok biota, an isolatedecosystem which may be an analogue for planetary environments

recover and identify extant microbial communities and a paleoenvironmental recordextending beyond the available ice core record by sampling the stratigraphic record of

gas hydrates and sediments deposited within the Lake ensure the development of appropriate technologies to support the proposed experimentswithout contaminating the Lake.

Timeline1999 (99-00)

Planning YearModeling studiesDevelop international collaborationSCAR Lake Vostok workshopBegin technology development

2000 (00-01)Site Survey Year I

Joint NSF/NASA LExEn Call for Lake Vostok ProposalsAirborne site surveyPreliminary ground based measurementsPreliminary identification of observatory sites

2001 (01-02)Site Identification and Site Survey Year IIGround based site surveysComplete airborne survey if necessaryTest access/contamination control technology at a site on theRoss Ice ShelfFinalize selection of observatory sites

2002 (02-03)

In Situ Measurement YearDrill access hole for in situ measurementsAttempt in situ detection systems to demonstrate presence ofmicrobial lifeInstall long term observatoryAcquire vertical profile of water columnAcquire microscale profiles within surface sedimentsConduct interface survey (ice/water and water/sediment)International planning workshop (including exchange workshop)


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2003 (03-04)Sample Retrieval YearAcquire samples of basal iceAcquire samples of water and gas hydratesAcquire samples of surface sedimentsStage logistics for second observatory

International planning workshop (including data exchange)2004 (04-05)

Installation of Second Long Term ObservatoryInstallation of second long term observatoryAnalysis of dataBuild new modelsInternational planning workshop (including data exchange)

2005 (05-06)Core Acquisition YearBegin acquisition of long coreInternational planning workshop (including data exchange)

In order for this science plan and timetable to be realized, several coordination issues must be

addressed including inter-agency and international collaboration, refinement of the scientificobjectives, rigorous selection of the observatory and sample locations, and identification of thecritical observations.

The development of three major groups is envisioned including,(1) an interagency working group to identify the relative interests and potentialroles in a Lake Vostok program(2) an international working group focused on scientific and logistical coordinationfor studies of Lake Vostok(3) a Lake Vostok Science Working group to address refinement of scienceobjectives, site selection and determination of primary objectivesInter-agency Working Group:The study of the Lake Vostok system is relevant to the mandate of several

agencies, most notably NASA, NSF and the USGS. Active coordination betweenthese agencies will be key to a successful science program focused on LakeVostok. Other agencies or industrial partners might be sought as well. Due totheir role as stewards of Antarctica and providers of logistical support, NSF wouldbe the preferred lead U.S. agency for any Lake Vostok mission.

International Working Group:To date, our understanding of Lake Vostok is the result of integration of diversedata sets from the international research community. A successful exploration ofLake Vostok will require ongoing international collaboration with significantcontributions from all participants. International collaboration will broaden thescope of the Lake Vostok studies. The SCAR workshop in 1999 is an excellentvenue for developing an international Lake Vostok Working Group.

Science Working Group:Before implementation of the science plan can begin, scientific objectives mustbe refined, the site selection process defined, and the critical observationsdefined. Careful review of these issues would best be accomplished by a smallteam of scientists, engineers, and logistics experts. The creation of this group is akey first step. This group will be tasked with addressing issues such as siteselection and development of an observation and sampling strategy.

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(4) Lake Vostok: Background InformationREVIEW OF LAKE VOSTOK STUDIESRobin E. BellLamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964,p (914) 365-8827; f (914) 365-8179,[email protected] identification of Lake Vostok in 1996 by Russian and British scientists(Kapitsa et al., 1996) represented the culmination of decades of data acquisitionwith a broad range of techniques including ground based seismics, starobservations, and airborne ice penetrating radar supplemented by spacebornealtimetric observations. These measurements were the result of a long history ofinvestment in Antarctic research by the international science community.

The initial discovery was subsequently complemented by results from theRussian-French-American Vostok ice coring program and the Russian Antarcticprogram. This review outlines the general characteristics of the Lake, beginningwith a description of the overlying ice sheet, continuing to the lake itself and oninto the sedimentary deposits (Figure 3).

The horizontal extent of the Lake is estimated from the flat surface (0.01 degrees)observed in the ERS-1 ice surface altimetry. The 4 km thick ice sheet floats as itcrosses the lake, just as ice sheets become floating ice shelves at the groundingline. The flat ice surface associated with Lake Vostok extends 280 km in thenorth-south direction and 50-60 km in the east-west direction. Over the lake theice surface slopes from 3550 m above sea level in the north to 3480 m above sea

level in the south. The ice surface is ten times flatter over Lake Vostok than in thesurrounding regions.

The regional ice flows in from an elevated feature known as Ridge B-C to thewest down the slope to the east. The presence of water may significantly alterthis flow (Robin, 1998). The flow rates across Lake Vostok have been estimatedfrom star sights at Vostok Station in 1964 and 1972 (Kapitsa et al., 1996) andsynthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferonmetric methods (Kwok et al., 1998).

The star sights at Vostok Station suggest primarily an easterly ice flow (142degrees) at 3.7 m/yr . The SAR results indicate a significant component of flow(2.22 m/yr) along the lake axis (Kwok et al., 1998). As the overlying ice sheet isprobably the major source of sediments, microbes and gas hydrates in the lake,

understanding the trajectory of the ice across the lake will be critical tounderstanding the lake as a system.

The present understanding of the 3750-4100 m of ice sealing Lake Vostok comesfrom limited airborne ice penetrating radar data acquired by a joint U.S.-Britishprogram in the 1970s, and from the deep ice core drilling at the Russian VostokStation by an international team of scientists from 1989 - 1998. The radar data,collected as part of a reconnaissance survey of Antarctica, provides cross-sectional images of the bedrock surrounding the lake, the internal layering within
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the ice, and the base of the ice over the lake for six flight lines.

Across the lake the reflection from the base of the ice sheet is strong and veryflat. In contrast, reflections from portions of the ice sheet over bedrock arecharacterized by rugged reflections of varying strength that are dominated byreflection hyperbolas. Radar data indicate that water within the northern half of

the lake may be very shallow (~10-30 m) and that several bedrock islandsprotrude through the lake into the ice sheet. The ice thickness is 4150 m in thenorth thinning to 3750 m in the south beneath Vostok Station.

The ice core at Vostok Station was drilled to recover a record of global climatechanges over the past 400,000 years which is preserved in distinct ice layers.Near the bottom of the core, beginning at a core depth of 3311 m, the ice firstshows signs of disruption of the layering by ice dynamics. Generally ice layersbecome tilted and geochemical climatic signals become difficult to interpret (Petitet al., 1998, Duval et al., 1998).

This layer between 3311 m and 3538 m has been interpreted as ice which waspart of the continuous ice column but has been disrupted by deformation

processes as the ice sheet moves over the underlying bedrock. The randomlydistributed moraine particles in the base of this section are interpreted as anactive shear layer. Below this layer, changes in ice character are significant with adramatic increase in crystal size (to 10-100 cm), a decrease by two orders ofmagnitude in the electric conductivity, the stable isotopic content of the ice andthe gas content.

These physical and chemical changes continue through the base of the Vostokice core at 3623 m and is interpreted to represent ice accreted to the base of theice sheet as it passed over Lake Vostok. The upper 70 m of this large crystal iceincludes numerous mud inclusions approximately 1 mm in diameter. These 70 mof muddy ice are interpreted to be ice accreted during a repeated melting andfreezing cycle along the lakes margin.

Below the 70 m of ice containing mud (i.e. below 3608 m) the ice is very clearand is believed to have been formed as accreted ice as the ice sheet floated overLake Vostok. In this interpretation, the base of the ice sheet consists of a layer of227 m of disrupted ice, 70 m of ice with mud inclusions and approximately 150 mof clear accreted ice. A freezing rate of several mm per year is required togenerate these layers of accreted ice.


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Figure 3:

Cartoon of Lake Vostok indicating the ice flow over the Lake near Vostok Station. The melting andaccreting processes are indicated at the base of the ice sheet. Arrows also indicate the potential

circulation within the lake. The accretion ice is the light blue layered material at the base of the icesheet. The sediments (orange lined pattern) and hypothesized gas hydrates (pebble pattern) on the

lake floor are shown.

The Russian seismic experiments, led by Kapitsain the 1960s and by Popkovin the 1990s (Popkov et al., 1998), provided insights into the depth of the lake atthe southern end of the Lake and the presence of sediments. Interpretation ofKapitsas 1960s data is that 500 m of water exist between the base of the ice

sheet and the underlying rock (Figure 3). These seismic experiments show thebase of the lake is 710 m below sea level.

This level is close to the estimated level of 600 m below sea level for the northernportion of the lake. Recent seismic experiments have confirmed the earlymeasurement of ~500 m of water beneath Vostok Station and deeper water (670m) several kilometers to the north.

These new experiments also identified 90-300 m sediment layers close to VostokStation. Sediments were absent 15 km to the southwest. Leichenkov used verylimited gravity data to infer as much as 4-5 km of sediments in the central portionof the lake (Leichenkov et al., 1998). Russian scientists (Kapitsa et al., 1996)have suggested that Lake Vostok results from extensional tectonics, inferring that

the Lake has an origin similar to Lakes Malawi (Africa) and Baikal (Russia)(Figure 4).


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Figure 4:

Satellite images of several large lakes shown at the same scale. (a) An ERS-1 image of Lake Vostok(R. Kwok, JPL).

Lake Vostok shows as the flat featureless region. In this image north is to the right,and Vostok Station is on the left of the image.

Both (b) and (c) are AVHRR false color composite images.Red indicates regions of high thermal emittance, either bare soil or urban areas.Green represents vegetation, Blue primarily indicates clouds and black is water.(b) An AVHRR image of Lake Ontario, a glacially scoured lake in North America.

Toronto is the red area at the western end of the lake (left side of image). An AVHRR image of Lake Malawi, an active rift lake from the East African Rift system.North is to the right in this image.

This interpretation is based on the long narrow nature of the lake and thebounding topography in some profiles. If the extensional origin is correct, the lakemay have thick sequences of sediment, elevated heat flow, and hot springs.

Conceptual models of circulation within the lake have been advanced by Zotikov(1998) and Salamatin (1998). These models are based on the densitydifferentials associated with variable ice thickness across the lake. The poorunderstanding of the size of the lake, the distribution of the melting and freezingregions and the geothermal flux, limits the applicability of these models.

Finally, in terms of understanding microbes within the lake, the overlying Vostokice core contains a diverse range of microbes including algae, diatoms, bacteria,fungi, yeasts and actiomycetes (Ellis-Evans and Wynn-Williams, 1996). Theseorganisms have been demonstrated to be viable to depths as deep as 2400 m(Abyzov, 1993).

In summary, these data provide us with a general sense of the horizontal scale ofthe lake and hints of the nature of the Lakes structure and origin, but manyquestions remain unanswered.
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THE OVERLYING ICE: MELTING AND FREEZINGMartin J. SiegertBristol Glaciology Centre, School of Geographical Sciences,University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1SS, UK,

p. 44-117-928-7875; f. 44-117-928-7878,[email protected]

The location and extent of Lake Vostok have been determined from ERS-1altimetry and radar sounding (Kapitsa et al., 1996). The ice thickness over thelake is 3740 m at Vostok Station and 4150 m at the northern extreme of the lake.The ice-sheet surface elevation decreases by ~40 m from north to south, whilstthe base of the ice sheet increases by ~400 m. The water depth is about 500 m atVostok Station (from seismic information) and a few tens of meters at thenorthern end (from VHF radio-wave penetration through water).

The basal ice-sheet conditions that prevail over the lake have not been previouslyidentified. However, this information is required in order to establish theenvironment within the lake and, from this, the likelihood of life in the water.

A new interpretation of internal ice-sheet layering from existing airborne 60 and300 MHz radar indicates that as ice flows across the subglacial lake, distinctmelting and freezing zones occur at the ice-water interface. These eventssuggest a major transfer of water between the ice sheet and lake, inducingcirculation in the lake and the deposition of gaseous hydrates and sediments intothe lake.

The position of one airborne radar line (Fig. 5) is approximately parallel to thedirection of ice flow as derived from InSAR interferometryand steady-state iceflow considerations (Siegert and Ridley, 1998). Three individual radar layers,extracted from the raw 60 MHz radar data, were continuously traced across thelake. The change in ice thickness between the top two internal layers, and the

change in ice thickness between the lowest layer and the ice-sheet base, werethen calculated (Fig. 6).


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Figure 5:

The position of one airborne radar line is approximately parallelto the direction of ice flow as derived from InSAR interferometry and steady-state ice flow

considerations.

Generally, over grounded sections of ice sheets, internal layers are observed toconverge and diverge in vertical sections as ice gets thinner and thicker,respectively. In contrast, if the grounded ice-sheet base is flat, the internal layerstend to be flat in response. Along a W-E transect across the middle of LakeVostok, the ice thickness is relatively constant and the ice-sheet base is very flat(Fig. 6).

However, along this line, internal radar layers from 60 Mhz radar are (1)approximately parallel to each other and (2) non-parallel to the ice base (Fig. 6).Any loss or gain in thickness between the ice base and the lowest internal layeralong the flow-parallel transect probably reflects accumulation or ablation of ice atthe ice-water interface. In contrast, 300 MHz radar indicates that compression oflayering occurs in the top layers of the ice sheet, where ice density changescause internal reflections.

Other possible explanations for the pattern of internal radar layering observed inthe transect can be discounted. For example, decoupling within the ice sheet (sothat ice flow above the internal layers is different from that below) is unlikely
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because of negligible basal shear stress between ice and water. Further,convergent and divergent flow around the bedrock island (Fig. 6) is not observedin the ice-surface velocity field derived from InSAR interferometry.

Figure 6:Calculation of the change in ice thickness between the top two internal layers,

and the change in ice thickness between the lowest layer and the ice-sheet base.

Divergent flow around the island in lower ice layers would only cause icethickening in adjacent regions. However, thickening of the ice sheet on either sideof the island is not observed in radar data. Furthermore, the internal layers do notreflect ice flow around bedrock upstream of the lake because radar data showthat such ice structure involves deeper internal layers diverging with increasingice depth, whereas the layering in our transect maintains a steady separation ofinternal layers across the lake.

Assuming that ice does not accelerate across the lake (e.g. Mayer and Siegert,submitted), the ice velocity will be steady at around 2 m yr-1 across the transect
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from west to east (left to right in Fig. 6).The processed 60 MHz radar data can then be used to determine rates of changeof ice thickness between the lowest layer and the subglacial interface. Assumingthat there is neither lateral flow nor compression of ice in the lower layers, theserates of change of ice thickness may be related directly to rates of subglacial

melting or freezing (Fig.6).

Using this method, melting of up to 15 cm yr-1 occurs across the first tenkilometers of the ice-water interface (Fig. 6d).

This zone is followed by a thirty kilometer-long region of net freezing with anaccumulation rate of up to 8 cm yr-1 (Fig. 6d). These data, therefore, indicatesignificant release of water from the ice sheet to the lake over the first 10 km ofthe transect, which is followed by net refreezing of lake water to the ice base.

Using these estimates approximately 400 m of basal ice will be accreted to thebase of the ice sheet as it traverses the central portion of Lake Vostok. Thiscompares to the 200 m of refrozen ice observed 100 km to the south at Vostok

Station in the narrow portion of the lake (Fig. 5).

The melting of the ice sheet as it first encounters the lake provides a supply ofwater, gas hydrates, biological debris and sediments to the lake. The sedimentsand gas hydrates will be deposited at the base of the lake, while the water will berefrozen in the base of the ice sheet in the accretion zone. The refrozen oraccreted ice appears to be derived from freshwater (J. R. Petit, pers. comm.).

This investigation indicates how basal ice-sheet conditions may be identified fromanalysis of airborne radar data. However, the present radar dataset is too sparseto provide a detailed analysis of ice-sheet basal melting and freezing for theentire 14000 km2 area of the lake.

New radar data are therefore required to extend this investigation over the fullextent of Lake Vostok. Analysis of new surveys will quantify the total volume ofwater involved in the exchange between the ice sheet and the lake, and allowcalculation of the input of non-ice material to the lake. This volume estimate willsupplement the glaciological parameters that radar measurements will provide.

EVIDENCE FROM THE VOSTOK ICE CORE STUDIESJ. R. PetitLGGE-CNRS, BP 96, 38402 St. Martin dHres Cedex, France,p. +33 (0)4 76 82 42 44, fax +33 (0)4 76 82 42 01,[email protected] part of the long term Russian-American-French collaboration on Vostok icecores, started in 1989, the drilling of hole number 5G was completed during the97-98 field season. Ice coring reached 3623 m depth, the deepest ice core everobtained. The drilling operations stopped 120 m from the ice/water interface toprevent contamination of the underlying lake by kerosene based drilling fluid.

The ice core continuously sampled for paleoclimate studies and discontinuoussections have been sent to selected laboratories in three countries. Below 3350m depth, one half of the main core was cut as a continuous archive for futurestudies, and stored at -55C in an ice cave at Vostok station.


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The very good quality and transparency of the retrieved deep ice allowed forcontinuous visual inspection of the ice inclusions, studies of ice crystals, andmeasurements of electrical conductivity. Preliminary isotopic measurements ofthe ice, (deuterium, dD), and analyses of the gas and dust content have beperformed on selected deep ice samples.

The upper 3000 m of the ice core (88% of the total ice thickness) provides acontinuous paleoclimatic record of the last 400,000 years. The preservation ofthis paleoclimatic record is due to the slow velocities of the glacier ice and the lowaccumulation rates at Vostok Station (presently 2 cm water equivalent per year).

Preliminary studies of the ice have yielded information on;a) the local temperature and precipitation rates (from isotopiccomposition studies)b) aerosol fluxes of marine volcanic, and terrestrial origin (fromchemical, ECM and dust content analyses)c) atmospheric trace gases (in particular the greenhouse gascontent [CO

2and CH

4] and the isotopic composition of this

fossil air)d) the physical properties of the ice, including air hydrates, icecrystals

The preliminary results of these studies indicate that the main patterns of theVostok temperature are well correlated to global ice volume from deep seasediments, back to the marine stage 11 (circa 400,000 BP) (Petit et al., 1999).The record shows four complete climatic cycles, including four ice age or glacialperiods associated with the development of large ice sheets over the NorthernHemisphere, and four transitional warmer interglacial periods (Petit et al., 1998).

Between depths of 3300 m and 3538 m, the layering is disturbed by ice sheetdynamics. For example, at 3311 m depth, three volcanic ash layers 10 cm apartare tilted in opposite directions. Moreover, 10 m deeper, at 3321 m, stable

isotope content, gas composition and dust concentrations of the ice, display verysharp and significant variations which cannot be of climatic origin. In these deeplayers, the geochemical parameters interpreted as climatic proxies can no longerbe interpreted as the glacial-interglacial cycles.

The observed values are intermediate between glacial and interglacial levels,suggesting the layers have been mixed. At the base of this ice there is evidenceof disruption due to ice sheet dynamics (3460 - 3538 m). The ice containsrandomly distributed moraine particles with particle sizes up to a few millimetersin diameter, indicative of an active shear layer.

Beneath these disturbed and apparently mixed layers, (below 3538 m) the icecharacter changes dramatically: ice crystals are very large (10-100 cm), electrical

conductivity drops by two orders of magnitude, stable isotope content of iceshifts, and gas content becomes two orders of magnitude lower. These drasticand related changes, indicate that the basal ice at this location is re-frozen lakewater. The accreted ice at the base of the Vostok core is about 220 m thick, or6% of the total ice thickness.

The ice from the Vostok basin originates from the Ridge B area and flows overthe lake in a manner similar to an ice shelf. Temperature in the ice sheet andmelting or freezing events at the base are linked to ice sheet dynamics and lake


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and bedrock heat fluxes. Whilst Lake Vostok exhibits evidence of large scalemelting, the flow line passing through Vostok site indicates a significant refreezingevent. This provides a constraint that must be taken into account when modelingthe ice paths and dating the climatic record.

Sampling the lake and underlying sediments is necessary, but will require the

development of clean sampling techniques. A continuation of geophysicalmeasurements in the existing bore hole, and complementary studies of deep icefrom Vostok, may provide important insights into the ice sheet, regional geologyand the lake.

TECTONIC SETTING OF LAKE VOSTOKIan DalzielInstitute for Geophysics, University of Texas, Austin, 4412 Spicewood Springs Rd., Bldg. 600, AustinTX 78759-8500,p (512) 471.0431, f (512) 471-8844,[email protected]

Lake Vostok is located at 77S, 105E within the East Antarctic Precambrian

craton, remote (>500 km) from both the Neoproterozoic rifted Transantarcticmargin and the Mesozoic rifted margin south of Australia and India. Its specificgeologic setting is completely unknown.

It has been suggested on the basis of limited geophysical data that the Lakeoccupies a structural depression such as a rift (Kapitsa et al., 1996). Assumingthis to be correct, several plausible scenarios can be developed that wouldexplain the tectonic setting of such a depression in central East Antarctica:

Intracratonic Rift associated with Extensional Processes:Given the presence of the extensive Lambert-Amery aulacogenalong the Indian Ocean margin of the craton at 6945S, 7100E,Lake Vostok could occupy an intracratonic rift valley comparableto the lakes of the East African rift. An aulacogen is a rift system

penetrating a craton from its margin. This could be either anactive rift system, as suggested by Leitchenkov et al. (1998) oran ancient and tectonically inactive rift.

Despite the presence of a young volcanic edifice at Gaussberg, also on theIndian Ocean margin at 6648S, 8911E, there is nothing to directly indicatepresent tectonic activity in the Lake Vostok area. Gaussberg is >1000 km distantand located at the termination of the Kerguelen oceanic plateau.

The Antarctic continent is anomalously aseismic, and only proximity to theGamburtsev Subglacial Mountains with their unusual 4 km of relief at 8030S,7600E might be taken to indicate any local tectonic or magmatic activity. Thesemountains, which do not crop out, could be like the Cenozoic Tibetsi or Hoggarvolcanic massifs of North Africa.

Again, however, there is no direct evidence of recent, let alone active, volcanismor tectonism in central East Antarctica. Evidence from sedimentary strata withinthe Lambert-Amery system suggests that this aulacogen is of Paleozoic age, andmay be the southern limb of a rift in India that predates Mesozoic opening of theIndian Ocean basin (Veevers et al., 1994).Rift Resulting From a Continental Collision: A depression containing Lake Vostokand the Gamburtzev Subglacial Mountains could be in a setting similar to Lake


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Baikal and the Tien Shan Mountains or Mongolian Plateau, i.e. a rift andintracratonic uplift associated with transmission of compressive stress thousandsof kilometers into a continental interior as a result of collision with anothercontinent.

Unlike Lake Baikal, however, Lake Vostok is not situated within a craton that has

undergone Cenozoic collision like that of Asia with India. Veevers (1994) hassuggested that the Gamburtzevs may have resulted from far-field compressivestresses associated with the amalgamation of Pangea at the end of Paleozictimes along the Ouachita-Alleghanian-Hercynian-Uralian suture. Alternatively,uplift and rifting within the East Antarctic craton could have been generated in thelatest Precambrian Pan African continent-continent collision of East and WestGondwanaland along the East African orogen (Dalziel, 1997).

The early Paleozoic Ross orogen along the Transantarctic Mountain margin wasa subduction related event which is not likely to have transmitted compressivestress far into the cratonic interior. Consideration of subduction-generatedAndean uplifts, however well to the east of the present Pacific margin of SouthAmerica, demands that this possibility also be kept open.Hot Spot or Mantle Plume Driven Depression: Plate tectonic reconstructionsmaintaining the present day positions of the Atlantic and Indian ocean basin hotspots such as Tristan da Cunha and Reunion islands, indicate that several ofthese (notably Crozet-Heard and Kerguelen) could have been beneath EastAntarctica prior to the opening of the Southern Ocean basins. The GamburtzevSubglacial Mountains and an associated Lake Vostok depression could owe theirorigin to such activity.

Glacial Scour possibly Eroding an Older Feature: An erosional origin for the LakeVostok depression, i.e. a Lake Ontario-type scenario, is possible, but could alsohave its origin in tectonism. For example, several of the Great Lakes occupydepressions formed during the development of the North American mid-continentrift system at 1100 Ma that was excavated by the Laurentide ice sheet duringCenozoic glaciation of that continent.

Meteor Impact: Circular depressions in the interior of cratons can form as a resultof meteor impact. Even the elongate depression indicated by the shape of LakeVostok could result from a bolide impact scar modified by subsequent tectonism,as in the case of the elliptical Sudbury basin in Ontario, Canada.

Hence the age of the depression that Lake Vostok appears to occupy could haveresulted from a variety of tectonic causes, and could range in age fromPrecambrian to Recent. At present, there is no evidence to indicate that thesetting is tectonically or magmatically active.

Several lines of investigation should be undertaken to clarify the tectonic setting,and hence the likely history and possible present activity of the feature:

1. Airborne geophysical survey of the region surrounding the lake2. Seismic refraction profiling to ascertain the deep crustalstructure beneath the lake3. Seismic reflection profiling to determine the shallowerstructural setting, nature of the sedimentary fill, and relation tooverlying present ice sheet and its base 3 Comparablegeophysical studies of the Gamburtzev Subglacial Mountains4. Sampling of the Gamburtzev Subglacial Mountains by drilling -


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evidence of a young volcanic construct locally would dramaticallychange the geologic picture.

EXPLORING MICROBIAL LIFE IN LAKE VOSTOK

James M. TiedjeCenter for Microbial Ecology, Michigan State University, 540 Plant and Soil Science Building, EastLansing, MI 48824-1325,p (517)-353-9021, f (517)-353-2917,[email protected]

Microorganisms have been on Earth at least 3.7 billion years and during thisevolutionary history have developed incredible biochemical, physiological andmorphological diversity. Members of the microbial world encompass the threedomains of life, the Bacteria, the Archaea, and the lower Eukarya.

This diversity encompasses organisms with novel redox couples for production ofenergy; adaptations to extremes of temperature, salt, and pH; novel energyacquisition mechanisms as well as strategies for withstanding starvation. About4,200 prokaryotic species have been described out of an estimated 105 to 106

prokaryotic species on Earth. Many of the extant microorganisms have not beencultured in the laboratory and hence remain unknown because we apparentlycannot reproduce their environment in the laboratory.

Conditions in Lake Vostok are not so severe as to make microbial life impossible.Hence, at least some forms of microorganisms should exist in Lake Vostok waterand sediment. The founding populations (original inoculum) could come eitherfrom the rock or sediment prior to ice cover, or from microbes trapped in the icethat are slowly transported through the ice to the water. In either case, LakeVostok microbes would have been isolated from their global relatives for at least1 million years.

Some changes in genotype and even phenotype could have occurred during this

time, presumably making the organisms more adapted to this cold, dark,oligotrophic environment. The time scale of 1 million years, however, is not longin terms of prokaryotic evolution when compared to their 3.7 x 109 year history.As points of reference, the E. coli-Salmonella enterica genospecies, which areclosely related organisms but differentiated because of their health importance,are considered to have diverged only in the last 100 million years (Lawrence andOchman, 1998).

Hence, species level differentiation may take at least 10-100 million years.Secondly, changes due to mutation (silent mutants) occur at the rate ofapproximately 5 x 10-10 per base pair (bp) per replication (Drake et al., 1998).Assuming an average gene size of 103 bp and 10 generations per year, onewould expect on average a change in only one base pair per gene in the 1 million

years since Lake Vostok microbes have been isolated from their relatives.

Other mechanisms of genetic change, especially recombination and mutatorgenes, could have altered organism phenotype more rapidly allowing foradaptation to Lake Vostok conditions. The above discussion is based on theconservative estimate of biological isolation by the ice cover of 1 million years. Ifthe original inoculum were derived from rocks or sediments that had been sealedfrom surface microbial contamination pre-Lake Vostok, their age of isolationwould have been longer, probably 35-40 million years. It should be noted that this


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form of isolation is not unique to Lake Vostok rocks.

The major biological questions to be addressed in Lake Vostok would appear tobe the following:

1. Who (what taxonomic groups) lives there?2. How different are the Lake Vostok organisms from what

we already know?3. Who are the Lake Vostok organisms related to and fromwhat habitats do these related organisms arise?

4. Which of the Lake Vostok organisms are metabolicallyactive?

5. How do these organisms live in this unique environment?6. Where do they get their energy (geothermal?, clathrates

[gas hydrates]?, other?), and do Lake Vostok nativeshave special adaptive strategies for this environment?

Microbial exploration of a new ecosystem such as Lake Vostok should includethree complementary approaches since each gives unique and vital information:nucleic acid-based methods, microscopy, and the isolation-cultivation approach.The nucleic acid-based methods provide much more comprehensive information

on the community than culture-based methods and, through sequencing of smallsubunit ribosomal RNA genes (SSU rRNA), provide information on theorganisms identity.

rRNA-based methodssuch as sequencing of clone libraries, fluorescent terminalrestriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis, denaturing gradientgel electrophoresis/ temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE/TGGE),fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), and quantitative hybridization byphylogenetic group probes, are well proven methods for exploring the microbialcommunity of new habitats such as Lake Vostok.

Other phylogenetically important genes such as 23S rRNA, intergeneric spacerregions and gyrB may also be useful. Once pure culture isolates are obtained,

reverse sample genome probing (RSGP) can be used to quantify the importanceof isolated organisms in the total community.

Microscopy remains a powerful exploratory approach because it is the bestmethod for comprehensive observation and quantification of the microbialcommunity. New forms of microscopy such as confocal laser scanning andenvironmental scanning electron microscopy, as well as coupling microscopy withthe use of fluorescent probes of various types can reveal key information both onorganisms identity as well as on their activity.

Isolation and cultivation of pure cultures remains the primary means to fullycharacterize a microorganism, including its metabolic capacity, uniquephysiology, confirming its taxonomy and for studies at the molecular level. An

example of the latter could be to identify genes responsible for adaptation to cold,genes potentially useful to making plants more winter hardy. Strategies that mightbe useful for cultivating Lake Vostok organisms would be to minimize the shockof warming, matching the ion composition of the medium to the lake water,maintaining oligotrophic nutritional conditions yet stimulating growth, and planningfor a long incubation period.

Special challenges for the study of Lake Vostok microbes would likely include thefollowing. Very low densities of microbes, which is probably the case in LakeVostok, always requires special methodologies to concentrate cells. Furthermore,


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risk from contamination from outside microbes is more problematic.

Determination of the metabolically active cells versus resting or dead forms, isespecially difficult at low temperatures because of the low metabolic rate.Isolation and cultivation of oligotrophic microbes is always difficult. The moreinteresting microbes are likely to be the ones most difficult to cultivate and isolate.

It may be difficult to determine whether what is found is really new and uniquesince so many of the worlds microbes remain unknown. To answer this questionone may have to seek Lake Vostok-like relatives outside of Lake Vostok oncethe former are characterized.

Abyzov and colleagues have studied microbes in the Vostok ice core bymicroscopy and cultivation (Abyzov et al., 1998). They find low densities (103cells/ml) of microbes in the ice core extending to ages of 240,000 years, theoldest period on which they have reported. Microbial density fluctuated with icecore age, being higher when the dust particle density is high, which alsocorresponds to periods of greater atmospheric turbulence. Bacteria were themost prevalent microbial cells, but yeast, fungi, microalgae, including diatoms,were also seen. Thawed ice samples assimilated 14C-amino acids establishing

that some of the cells were alive.

Most of the organisms that were isolated from the ice core are spore-formers, e.g.Bacillus. Attempts to isolate more oligotrophic types apparently have not beenmade. Organisms from the ice core could be one source of inoculum to VostokLake.

Studies on the microorganisms of Antarctica and buried Arctic permafrost soilshave relevance to Lake Vostok questions. Culturable strains from 1 million yearold buried arctic permafrost soil belong to the Planococcus, Psychrobacterium,Arthrobacter, and Exigobacterium groups. It is interesting that the closestrelatives of some of these strains are found in Antarctica.

Some of the ancient arctic isolates grow relatively rapidly at -4.5C. Hence,growth rate at the Vostok temperature of -3.2C would not appear to be alimitation. The major limitation to microbial density in Lake Vostok would be arenewable supply of energy. If clathrates (gas hydrates) were present, thepotential microbial use of this energy source would be particularly intriguing.

LAKE VOSTOK PLANETARY ANALOGSFrank CarseyCalifornia Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion LaboratoryJPL ms 300-323, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena CA 91109,p (818) 354-8163, f (818) 393-6720,[email protected]

About the time that the true scale of Lake Vostok was generating excitement inthe Earth Science community, spacecraft images and other data of the Galileansatellites of Jupitersimilarly electrified the Planetary Science community, and fora similar reason: in both cases strong evidence was suddenly provided for large,previously unknown bodies of water which might well be home to unique lifeforms.

As of this writing, large, old, subsurface oceans are suspected on both Europaand Callisto, and water ice is known or speculated to occur in a great number of


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other sites, including Earths moon. Meanwhile, the microbiologists arerevolutionizing the picture of biodiversity of life on Earth and repeatedlyastounding the scientific community and the public with information on microbesthriving in sites long considered untenable for life.

These developments are obviously interrelated; it is clear that explorati

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