Summary
We know more about Mars than we know about Antarctica’s subglacial environment, but new information about its nature is changing the way we view the continent. Founded in 2016 with funding from the Subglacial Antarctic Lakes Scientific Access, the Subglacial Antarctic Lakes Scientific Access (SALSA) is uncovering new knowledge about this unexplored biome through an integrative study of subglacial geobiology, water column and sedimentary organic carbon, and geobiological processes in one of the largest subglacial lakes in West Antarctica.
SALSA set up a field camp of 50 scientists, drillers, and support staff over December 2018 and January 2019, and drilled 4,000 feet into the ice to sample from Mercer Subglacial Lake. Team members reached the study site—which was located roughly 500 miles from the South Pole—using specialized tractors and ski equipped aircraft.
Scientific Objectives
The Antarctic Subglacial environment is a dynamic ecosystem where life, ice, water, and rock form a web of complex interactions. To better understand this subglacial biome, SALSA is employing an integrated approach of scientific discovery that samples from three geobiological systems. Through combining results across multiple disciplines, we are learning new information about our planet’s past and gaining knowledge on subglacial processes such as carbon cycling and water-ice dynamics.
Preserving the pristine nature of Antarctic subglacial ecosystems necessitates environmental stewardship during their exploration. SALSA drilled into and accessed Mercer Subglacial Lake using a clean and sterile system that minimized microbial and chemical contamination to the environment and retrieved samples. Click here to read more about our clean access system.
Hydrology
SALSA gathered data from permanent GPS stations to better understand subglacial water flow’s influence on the larger ice sheet system and improve subglacial lake modeling through comparing our model’s estimates against geochemical data.
Geology
Through examining microfossils and carbon isotopes within sediment cores, SALSA is gaining new information on past paleoclimates, the source and age of relict carbon within subglacial lakes, and the geologic history of West Antarctica.
Geomicrobiology
The microbial life of subglacial ecosystems exists in total darkness and relies on relict carbon within subglacial sediments to persist. Through sampling these ecosystems, we are gaining more knowledge of how these organisms survive.