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Evolutionary Processes a Focus of Decade-Long Ecosystem Study of Antarctic's Lake Vostok

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Evolutionary Processes a Focus of Decade-Long Ecosystem Study of Antarctic's Lake Vostok Eos, Vol. 80, No. 48, November 30,1999 model development phase, paralleling tech­ Evolutionary Processes a Focus nological enhancement to ensure the lake is not contaminated during the observation and sampling phases.This initial planning period of Decade-Long Ecosystem Study would be followed by geophysical site sur­ veys, in situ measurements, installation of of Antarctic's Lake Vostok long-term observatories, and recovery of sam­ ples from the base of the ice sheet, from the water column, and from the lake sediments PAGES 573,579 over the next decade. Approximately the size and bedrock. of Lake Ontario, Lake Vostok lies beneath the 4 As scientists probe for life in new habitats km thick East Antarctic ice sheet (Figure 1). and try to understand the processes that trig­ The lake is much deeper than Lake Ontario— Clearly Visible from Space gered the origin and guided the evolution of remotely measured water depths reach 670 m. life on Earth, environments beneath large ice The East Antarctic ice sheet flows across Although over 70 lakes have been identi­ sheets are beginning to emerge as key ecosys­ Lake Vostok and acts as a conveyor belt for fied beneath the Antarctic ice sheet [Siegert tems. Modern subglacial environments are both delivering and removing material. With et al., 1996], Lake Vostok is the only lake large analogues both for the icy moons of Jupiter this dynamic flux of material, the lake is an enough to be clearly seen from space. The and the environmental stresses that led to example of a complex system where the flat ice surface over the lake, visible from widespread evolutionary radiation following intersection of extreme geologic, geochemi- space, results from floating of the ice sheet as the Neoproterozoic "snowball" Earth. cal,and glaciologic boundary conditions it crosses the lake. Beneath the thick ice sheet, the lake rests in a deep, narrow depres­ The largest modern analogue to these dis­ may be producing a unique and complex sion, possibly a rift valley akin to the African tant systems is Lake Vostok, a great Antarctic ecological niche. Rift lakes. subglacial lake, and the international science Last year, a draft science plan was Lake Vostok is located beneath the Russian community is developing a plan to systemati­ developed to study Lake Vostok. The science research facility,Vostok Station. As a result, a cally survey and explore this complex system effort would include an initial planning and wealth of information about the lake has been collected.The available data range from the results of seismic profiling experi­ ments over the last 35 years to the Vostok ice core, widely held as the standard for atmos­ pheric and climatic variability [Petit et al., 1999].The seismic data constrain the depth of the lake and confirm the presence of sedi­ ments in the lake floor. The ice core, the deepest yet recovered, provides a 400,000- year environmental record on conditions in the Lake Vostok region. Evidence is mounting, both from remote sensing data and from the ice core, that the ice sheet does not passively traverse the lake, but dynamically interacts with the lake water (Figure 2). From airborne radar data,Siegert and Ridley [1998] demonstrated that the ice sheet first thins, then thickens, as the ice cross­ es the lake. These changes appear to be driv­ en by the melting and refreezing processes at the base of the ice sheet. Vostok ice core morphologic and geochemi- cal evidence suggests that the basal ice did not result from the accumulation of surface snow, but rather formed from lake water freez­ ing onto the ice sheet as it crossed the lake. Partial melting of the ice sheet will supply sediments, new water, microbes, and possibly gas hydrates to the lake. Together, the melting and refreezing process may also drive circula­ tion within the lake. Samples of this basal ice are held at the National Ice Core Laboratory in Denver, Colorado. Microorganisms to 3603 Meters Careful analysis of the Vostok ice core by Russian scientists indicates that viable micro­ organisms are present to depths of 2400 m Fig. 1. Satellite images, all shown at the same scale, of a) Lake Vostok; b) Lake Ontario; and [Abyzov, 1998].The presence of these micro­ c) Lake Malawi. Original color image appears at the back of this volume. organisms indicates that they may have been Eos, Vol. 80, No. 48, November 30,1999 explored? Studying Lake Vostok is technical­ ly and logistically difficult because of its thick ice cover and distance from major coastal Antarctic stations (Figure 3). Lake Vostok is over 1000 km from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) major research base, McMurdo Station. Other smaller lakes close to major bases including McMurdo and South Pole Stations would be logistically simpler to study. But scientists agree that the initial target for studying subglacial environments should be the system most likely to support a stable microbial community Small, shallow lakes beneath the ice sheet may have frozen solid during low stands of the ice sheet. Lake Vos­ LAKE VOSTOK tok, because of its size and depth, probably remained liquid during changes in the Ant­ Fig. 3. European Remote Sensing (ERS-1) surface arctic ice sheet volume. We understand much altimetry indicating location of Lake Vostok. more about the ice sheet melting and refreez­ ing processes over Lake Vostok than any other lake, and we have a solid local climate record • characterizing the structure of the lake's Fig. 2. Drawing of Lake Vostok indicating the for the last 400,000 years from the overlying water column, specifically evaluating the pos­ ice flow over the lake near Vostok Station. ice core. sibility of density-driven circulation associat­ Original color image appears at the back of Lake Vostok is a unique focus for interdisci­ ed with melting/freezing processes or geo- this volume. plinary studies and may be a unique region thermal heat, the potential presence of strati­ for detailed scientific investigation for a num­ fied gas hydrates, and the origin and cycling ber of reasons. For one, the lake may be an of organic carbon; introduced into the lake from the overlying active geological structure that could alter • establishing the taxonomic structure and ice sheet. Similar viable microorganisms from our understanding of the East Antarctic era- functional diversity of any Lake Vostok biota, 1 million year old Antarctic permafrost have ton. For another, the lake may contain a sedi­ an isolated ecosystem that may be an ana­ been recovered, suggesting that prolonged mentary record of the Earth's climate, espe­ logue for planetary environments; preservation of viable microorganisms may cially critical information on the initiation of • recovering and identifying extant microb­ be common in Antarctic habitats. Conse­ Antarctic glaciation. Also, because of the pos­ ial communities and a paleoenvironmental quently, it is possible that microorganisms sible presence of layered gas hydrates, the record extending beyond the available ice may be present in the liquid portion of Lake lake may be a previously undescribed ex­ core record by sampling the stratigraphic Vostok and other subglacial lakes. treme Earth habitat with unique geochemical record both of the gas hydrates and the sedi­ However, the relative isolation from exogenous characteristics. It may, as well, contain novel, ments deposited within the lake; sources of carbon and solar energy and the previously undescribed, relic or fossil micro­ • ensuring development of appropriate tech­ extreme physical and geochemical characteris­ organisms with unique adaptive strategies for nologies to conduct the experiments efficient­ tics in Lake Vostok may have precluded the life.The lake also may be a useful Earth-based ly without contaminating the lake. development of any functional ecosys­ analogue and technology test bed to guide A preliminary timetable for Lake Vostok tem. In fact, subglacial lakes are expected to be the design of unmanned, planetary missions studies requires significant iteration with the oligotrophic habitats and may have the lowest to recently discovered ice-covered aquatic Antarctic logistics operators, the interested nutrient levels and lowest standing stocks of habitats on the Jovian moon,Europa. U.S. agencies, and the international partners. viable organisms of any aquatic habitat on The overall framework for the timeline allows Earth. If the rift origin proposed by Russian sci­ History and Dynamics an initial period of planning, modeling, and entists for Lake Vostok is correct, active geother- technological development.This planning mal vents could provide local sources of energy The preliminary Lake Vostok science plan period would be followed by ground and air­ and growth-favorable temperatures analogous to calls for an understanding of the history and borne site surveys, in situ measurements, and environmental conditions surrounding deep sea dynamics of the lake's system as the culmina­ sample return.The airborne and groundbased hydrothermal vents [Karl, 1995].More recent tion of a unique suite of geologic and glacio- site surveys would be used to identify loca­ analysis of the ice core from depths of 3590 m logic factors that may have produced an un­ tions for the initial in situ measurements and and 3603 m have detected the presence of bac­ usual ecological niche isolated from major the long-term observatories.The first in situ teria in ice that was accreted from Lake Vostok external inputs and possibly dominated by measurements would include a vertical pro­ (Priscu and Karl, unpublished results). the presence of stratified gas hydrates. Specif­ file within the water column, microscale Without direct measurements, one can only ic goals include: observations of the sediments, and careful speculate on the possible presence of fossil or • determining the geologic origin of Lake measurements of the key interfaces, speci­ living microorganisms in the Lake habitat that Vostok within the framework of improving the fically the water/ice interface and the water/ has been isolated from external input for nearly understanding of the East Antarctic continent sediment interface.This initial measurement 400,000 years.
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