Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments

About this book

This is the first volume on this important and fascinating subject. With its underlying theme of bridging existing knowledge to future research, it is a benchmark in the history of subglacial lake exploration and study, containing up-to-date discussions about the history and background of subglacial aquatic environments and future exploration. The main topics addressed are:

- Identification, location, physiography, and hydrology of 387 subglacial lakes
- Protocols for environmental stewardship and protection of subglacial lake environments
- Details of three programs aiming to explore Vostok Subglacial Lake, Ellsworth Subglacial Lake, and Whillans Subglacial Lake over the next 3-5 years
- Assessment of technological requirements for exploration programs based on best practices for environmental stewardship and scientifi c success
- Knowledge of subglacial lakes as habitats for microbial life and as recorders of past climate and ice sheet change

Its uniqueness, breadth, and inclusiveness will appeal to microbiologists and those interested in life in extreme environments, paleoclimatologists and those interested in sedimentary records of past changes, glaciologists striving to understand how water beneath glaciers affects their flow, and those engaged in developing technology to undertake direct measurement and sampling of extreme environments on Earth and in the solar system.

Contents

Preface

Section I: History and Background
- Subglacial Aquatic Environments: A Focus of 21st Century Antarctic Science
- The Identification and Physiographical Setting of Antarctic Subglacial Lakes: An Update Based on Recent Discoveries
- Antarctic Subglacial Lake Discharges

Section II: Lake Vostok and Recognition of Subglacial Aquatic Environments
- Vostok Subglacial Lake: A Review of Geophysical Data Regarding Its Discovery and Topographic Setting
- Microbial Communities in Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments
- Subglacial Lake Sediments and Sedimentary Processes: Potential Archives of Ice Sheet Evolution, Past Environmental Change, and the Presence of Life
- The Geomorphic Signature of Massive Subglacial Floods in Victoria Land, Antarctica
- Subglacial Environments and the Search for Life Beyond the Earth

Section III: Future Exploration Missions
- Environmental Protection and Stewardship of Subglacial Aquatic Environments
- Probe Technology for the Direct Measurement and Sampling of Ellsworth Subglacial Lake
- Vostok Subglacial Lake: Details of Russian Plans/Activities for Drilling and Sampling
- Siple Coast Subglacial Aquatic Environments: The Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling Project
- Ellsworth Subglacial Lake, West Antarctica: A Review of Its History and Recent Field Campaigns

AGU Category Index
Index

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