3 scientific expeditions seek treasure under the ice in the Frozen Continent

That quest by Russian, British and American scientific teams for water samples is the topic of an article in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society.

C&EN European Correspondent Sarah Everts explains that the Russian mission to Lake Vostok captured global headlines recently when the team bored 2.5 miles through Antarctic ice to reach the lake's ancient water, undisturbed for 15 million years. They want to analyze the lake for signs of life and clues about how life might survive in Earth's most inhospitable places – or on other planets. But that step must wait until late in 2012 when the Antarctic winter ends, allowing travel into the Frozen Continent.

But the Russians are only one team of several trying to understand what kind of life can survive in water beneath the Antarctic ice sheet and how these organisms might do it. The other two may yield even greater scientific treasures. One is an American team that plans to drill with hot water – rather than mechanically, as the Russians did – into a river of ice one half mile below the surface that carries water from several underground lakes to the ocean.

Using the same method, British scientists will try to reach Lake Ellsworth, almost two miles below the surface, which may have been isolated for a million years. They hope to make a complete survey of life and nutrient sources in Ellsworth, which is not yet possible for the deeper, colder and more ancient Lake Vostok.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 164,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society contact newsroom@acs.org

Media Contact

Michael Bernstein EurekAlert!

More Information:

http://www.acs.org

All latest news from the category: Earth Sciences

Earth Sciences (also referred to as Geosciences), which deals with basic issues surrounding our planet, plays a vital role in the area of energy and raw materials supply.

Earth Sciences comprises subjects such as geology, geography, geological informatics, paleontology, mineralogy, petrography, crystallography, geophysics, geodesy, glaciology, cartography, photogrammetry, meteorology and seismology, early-warning systems, earthquake research and polar research.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors