Antarctic Subglacial Water Systems - A Frontier for Interdisciplinary Research

Dr. Slawek Tulaczyk
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
University of California, Santa Cruz

The Antarctic ice sheet is underlain by an extensive, complex and dynamic water system which encompasses the largest wetland on Earth, at least hundreds of lakes, drainage pathways, and deep groundwater.  Distribution and dynamics of subglacial water is of inherent importance to understanding the Antarctic continent, its ice sheet, and its connectivity to the global climatic, geochemical, and biologic systems.  Antarctic aquatic environments are rapidly emerging as key targets for interdisciplinary research. Glaciologists are interested in the role that subglacial hydrology plays in determining spatial and temporal patterns of fast ice drainage to the ocean.  Microbiologists are seeking to test the premise that subglacial Antarctic waters support microbial ecosystems in spite of their long-term isolation from sunlight, atmosphere, and the rest of the biosphere.  Subglacial lake basins may hold the best geologic archives of paleo- environmental changes that will help determine the timing of past ice sheet retreat in West and East Antarctica.  Within the next several years, there will be three attempts to access the subglacial environment with research drilling projects, including one involving scientists from UC Santa Cruz and St. Olaf College.