Home → Meetings → Meeting #2 April 2006
Document Actions

Meeting #2 - April, 2006

by CKennicutt — last modified 2007-07-23 15:47

SCAR LogoLaboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l'Environnement (UMR 5183); 54, rue Molière, 38402 - Saint Martin d'Hères cedex (France)

1.0 Welcome/Introductions

J Priscu welcomed the SCAR SALE members and thanked JR Petit and Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l'Environnement (LGGE) for hosting the meeting. The agenda for Meeting #2 was adopted. Additional national reports were added to the agenda (Italy and Belgium). Reporters were appointed - M Siegert - AM 4/27, C Mayer - PM 4/27, S Bulat - AM 4/28, and RPowell - PM 4/28. Carlo Barbante was recognized as an Observer. The report of the first meeting of SALE was introduced without comment  - Meeting #1 - April, 2005   

2.0 Program Administration

The SALE Proposal and Implementation Plan are complete and approved by SCAR.

A biennial SALE Program Performance Report will be prepared by C Kennicutt with assitance from the SCAR SALE members. Specifically members are to update the performance report, the milestone tables, and the publication lists at the SALE Program Office. Members were also asked to provide C Kennicutt with a list of the 5 most significant SALE scientific discoveries in the last two years. 

A Financial Report was provided by C Kennicutt. After the SALE Workshop and SCAR SALE Meeting #2 the SALE budget will be nearly exhausted for 2006.

Membership was reviewed by J Priscu. Three nominations were considered and agreed. J Priscu will draft a letter to the SCAR Executive Director describing the discussions and recommendations on SCAR SALE membership. If approved this would bring the SCAR SALE membership to 14, replace one retiring member, expand participation by 2 countries, and improve disciplinary balance. 

Official association of external programs with SCAR SALE was discussed. Members are to nominate external programs as partners and these partnerships will be agreed based on a majority vote of SCAR SALE membership. See -

 

3.0 Subcommittee Reports

The SCAR SALE Subcomittee on Data Management is Chaired by R Bell. Specific points of contact for different types of data are: biological data - C Ellis-Evans, glacio-chemical data - JR Petit, geological data - R Powell, and geophysical data - R Bell. Data sources are mainly available in the literature and in individual laboratories. Some data are held in data centers.  The SALE Program Office acts as a portal to data repositories but is not equipped to store or archive data. Contact information for data centers in Italy (C Barbante) and Russia ( V Lukin) will be added to the SCAR SALE web site. It was noted that JCADM had been tasked with naming a person to be a liaison with each SCAR SRP to facilitate adherence to SCAR data policies and procedures and to coordinate data management, access, and archive. A JCADM liaison for SALE has yet to be named. J Priscu will draft a letter to T De Bruin, Chief Officier of JCADM, asking that a JCADM person be identified for SALE. SCAR SALE data management will be closely coordinated with IPY data mangement activities.

An on-line inventory of subglacial lakes is needed. The inventory would be an expansion and enhancement of that provided by M Siegert. It could be continually updated and provided to the community as a resource for planning efforts and site selection. R Bell, I Tabacco, and M Siegert will coordinate this effort and develop protocols for the identification of subglacial lakes.

R Bell will develop a Terms of Reference for the Data Management Subcommittee.  

I Tabacco was fomerly the Chair of the SCAR SALE Education, Outreach, and Communications (EOC) Subcommittee but has retired. F Pattyn has agreed to Chair this committee. Committee members are asked to send F Pattyn ideas on SCAR SALE EOC. These activities will be coordinated with the IYP EOC activities.

F Pattyn will develop a Terms of Reference for the EOC Subcommittee and recruit other SCAR SALE members to serve on the committee.

The SCAR SALE Technology Subcommittee is Chaired by R Powell. R Powell is organizing a workshop on technologies for drilling to be held in late 2006. The workshop will bring together technologists and engineers to discuss the issues involved with accessing subglacial envrionments of all kinds. M Siegert and JR Petit agreed to serve on the Technology Subcommmittee.

R Powell will develop a Terms of Reference for the Subcommitee and recruit other SALE members to serve on the committee.

All SCAR SALE members are to provide R Powell with descriptions of the technology currently being used in national SALE programs.

4.0 Science Reports - Each SCAR SALE member is provided the opportunity to update the group on progress in their national SALE programs. These reports are provided below.

Russian Anarctic Expedition plans, presented by V Lukin, include a short description of the results from last season. In Jan. 2005 permission was granted by the Russian government to drill an additional 50m of accreted ice in the Vostok borehole. On 31 December 2005 the first core was retrieved. 27m of accreted ice was recovered and drilling ceased on 21 January, 2006. The ice structure was the same as ice recovered above with crystal sizes of 1 meter and greater. The temperature at the bottom of the drill hole was measured to be -6.5 °C, but this may be influenced by the drilling activity. Ice penetrating radar measurements were used to develop a more detailed map of this part of Lake Vostok. The peninsula which forms the small embayment west of Vostok Station is now believed to be an island. On a profile from Vostok to Mirny, about 550km from Pionerskaya, a new lake with an area of about 26 km² (4 x 7km) and three very small lakes were identified. In total, 111 km of seismic profiling across the northern part of Lake Vosotk and along the lake was acquired.  Future plans include recovery of an additional 75 m of accreted ice core. An EIA is being prepared for submission to the Russian government for this activity. At the end of next season the drill hole should extend to within 25m of the lake/ice interface. Additional measurements will be carried out in order to make sure that enough ice is left between the borehole and the lake to ensure borehole integrity. For the planned lake penetration, thermal coring will be used. Before lake penetration the final CEE will be submitted. Ice thickness to the lake is measured every year by seismics and radar from the surface. Lukin Presentation

A Russian-French Vostok Team is conducting biological studies to search for microbial DNA signatures, based on 16s rRNA gene sequencing, in Lake Vostok accreted ice. “Accretion ice 1” contains significant solid inclusions.  “Accretion ice 2” appears to be nearly inclusion free but micro-inclusions may be present. Based on accretion ice analyses, it is expected that life in the ice and in the lake would be chemoautotrophic, barophilic, and psychrophilic. Chemical analyses of accretion ice allows one to infer the presence of the redox reactions necessary to support hydrogen-oxidizing and sulfate reducing bacteria as well as methanogenic archaea. However, until further DNA analyses of accretion ice are needed to confirm these specualtions. No methane or hydrogen sulfide was detected in accretion ice to date. Life in the lake remains to be discovered. Bulat Presentation

The Subglacial Lake Ellsworth  Program update stated that full exploration of the lake is envisaged in the 2012/2013 timeframe. The next Lake Ellsworth meeting is planned for September 2006. Drill equipment construction is proposed for 2008. The system includes hot water capable of drilling through  3000m or more of ice and a sterilising system. Ice thickness over the Lake Ellsworth is between 3300m and 3400m. Siegert Presentation

Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO, US) SALE Science Update - Ice surface elevations and shorelines were identified in ERS-1 and airborne images. The 90°E lake (20x190km) and the Sovjetskaya lake were investigated in detail. ICESAT data were used for shoreline identification . A gravity profile was the basis for a tectonic model of the area. Geological controls on lakes were noted. The Recovery drainage system in Dronning Maud Land, in connection with the ice stream features, discovered by J. Zwally on Radarsat data, was studied using remote sensing data (surface altimetry, MODIS imagery) and a surface gravity profile. There are surface expressions typical of subglacial lakes (trough-flat-ridge) in a number of areas. At an elevation of ~ 2500 m, about 400km from the ridge-B structure, flow stripes were identified. Some radar data (and seismic data) from 1964/65 indicate bedrock lows and highs associated with these surface features. A proposal for an in-depth investigation of these features is in preparation.  In addition, there are several multinational project to study the origins of the Gamburtsev Mountains, including AGAP, GAMBIT (R. Bell), ICECAP, GAMSEIS, GIGAGAP.

Belgium National Report - Investigation of the mechanisms for subglacial drainage using numerical models has been completed. Subglacial drainage in Antarctica was recently observed by  Wingham et al., 2006. Changes in ice thickness lead to changes in the lake ceiling elevation implying drainage. F. Pattyn's numerical ice sheet model simulates a floating ice sheet in hydrostatic equilibrium. Even small changes in ice thickness can change the hydraulic potential creating the conditions for leakage (even over bedrock sills of 50-100m). Emptying of the lake may lead to replacement of the drained water volume with ice. The ASPI (Antarctic subglacial Processes and Interactions: Role of Transition Zones on Ice Sheet Stability) project is funded for two years with  ULB and VUB as partners. Planned activities include numerical modeling, ice core analysis, lab experiments and field work (grounding line ice cores). There is also interest from other Belgian groups in ASPI (A. Wilmotte and G. Feller both at ULG). Pattyn Presentation

Italian National Report - During 2003 ice penetrating radar profiles (RES) were measured over Lake Concordia, Aurora Trench, and Concordia Trench to confirm ice thicknesses in the deepest parts of the region. These data resulted in the development of a new bottom topography for the Concordia Trench and the identification of at least eleven new lakes. The spacing of the radar profiles was 15 km indicating that the newly identified lakes are small. Field work in 2005 was conducted in collaboration with BAS and included flights to collect  longitudinal profiles over Concordia Trench. The data was used to confirm the presence of Lake Concordia and Vincent that were originally detected in 2003. The new flight lines also included magnetic measurements. Over Concordia and Belgica islands special investigations identified variations in magnetic anomalies (data analysis to be completed in autumn 2006).  Future plans include seismic profiling in 2006/07 to determine water thicknesses and to identify sediments in Lake Concordia (about 100 km profiles, two profiles cross the lake). A camp will be establsihed  at Lake Concordia in 2006/07 for in situ measurements (semi-permanent camp for 4-5 years). The camp could potentially be uspported/supplied directly from the French traverse from Dumont d’Urville to Concordia. Depending on th e new data(quantifying the water depth and existence of sediments), Lake Concordia may be proposed as a candidate for lake entry. There is a proposal for geochemical studies to recover climatic information from Concordia ice cores and snow pits and continue developing new methods for sampling and decontamination. There is a coordinated Italian project with the following partners : I. Tabacco: radar, Univ. Trieste: seismics, F. Salvini: geology, R. Barbante: chemistry, Univ. Florence: chemistry, Univ. Naples: biology. Duirng  the IPY an overland traverse is planned under the guidance of Massimo Frezzotti. The Italian SALE National Committee is the same as orginally constituted.

Montana State University SALE Science Update - The Priscu Research Group continues to study the microbial ecology of icy environments. Highlights of recent research include:

    • Completion of a 3 year geomicrobial study of the subglacial environment beneath the Taylor Glacier. Geochemical data have shown that the environment represents an ancient marine incursion that is inhabited by a diverse group of psychrophilic and psychro-tolerant organisms that can make a living without sunlight.
    • Studies of Vostok accretion ice have concluded and a manuscript is in press in the journal Limnology and Oceanography entitled “Limnological Conditions in Subglacial Lake Vostok, Antarctica”. Data in this paper present detailed information on amino acids from the Vostok core and a clone library showing a dominance of Proteobacteria. Based on phylogenetic data, we the type of metabolic activity that L. Vostok can support. is predicted
    • Research the NGRIP “pink ice” revealed ~1000 bacteria/ml and elevated methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen levels. Unfortunately, NMR measurements showed that the ice core was highly contaminated with drilling fluid making all data equivocal. The basal water mixed with drilling fluid in the borehole.
    • Long-term studies (>20 years) of phototrophic microbes in the permanently ice-covered lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys have shown many novel physiologies within the dominant species. This work was recently published (Morgan-Kiss, R.M., J.C. Priscu, T. Pocock, L. Gudynaite-Savitch and N. PA Huner. 2006; "Adaptation and acclimation of photosynthetic microorganisms to permanently cold environments". Microbial and Molecular Biology Reviews. 70: 222-252).
    • Studies of hydrocarbon movement in ice show that kerosene based fluids can be channeled rapidly through triple junctions in ice as it approaches the melting point. Hence, care should be taken when kerosene-based drilling fluids are used in “warm ice”.
    • Flow cytometry was used to successfully discriminate between biotic and abiotic particles in Polar ice cores. Initial results from the Vostok ice core are in press (Priscu, J.C., B.C. Christner, C.M. Foreman and G. Royston-Bishop. "Biological Material in Ice Cores". 2006. Encyclopedia of Quaternary Sciences. Elsevier). Studies will be conducted on Greenland ice cores during the summer of 2006.
    • An IPY proposal is pending with NSF to determine microbial survival mechanisms during the transition from 24 hour sunlight to the darkness of polar night. This study will focus on the interactions among phototrophs, chemoautotrophs and heterotrophs.
    • A thin water film model was developed coupled with the free energy of metabolism and associated redox couples to show that bacteria can survive and produce new carbon in the near surface of Mars.

 

ICECAP - Use of a P3 aircraft from the Naval Research Lab has been secured to conduct 150,000km of  RES, laser altimetry, gravity and magnetic profiles. These profiles will be flown in three blocks: Gamburtsev Mountains, Vostok-Concordia and Concordia-Law Dome (crossing the Aurora sub-glacial basin and Totten glacier). Planned spacing between the lines is 15km. The field work is planned for two seasons. Apart from the aircraft, all other partners still require confirmation of funding. For more information see:  Investigating the Cryospheric Evolution  of the Central Antarctic Plate (ICECAP)

US National Research Council Report - "NASA’s goals for space exploration over the coming decades place a strong priority on the search for life in the universe and the agency has set in place ambitious plans to investigate environments relevant to possible past or even present life on Mars. Over the next decade NASA plans to send spacecraft to search for evidence of habitats that may have supported extinct or could support extant life on Mars; Europe will also send robotic explorers. These future missions, in addition to the ongoing suite will continue to deliver scientific data about the planet and reduce uncertainties about the prospects for past or present life on Mars. To ensure that scientific investigations to detect life will not be jeopardized, scientists have pressed, as early as the dawn of the space age, for measures to protect celestial bodies from contamination by Earth organisms that could hitchhike on a spacecraft, survive the trip, and grow and multiply on the target world. Preventing the forward contamination of Mars is the subject of this report, which addresses a body of policies, requirements, and techniques designed to protect Mars from Earth-originating organisms that could interfere with and compromise scientific investigations. The report does not assess forward contamination with respect to potential human missions to Mars, nor does it explore issues pertaining to samples collected on Mars and returned to Earth, so-called back contamination. Those two dimensions of planetary protection, although extremely important, are beyond the scope of the charge to the Committee on Preventing the Forward Contamination of Mars. The recommendations made in this report do apply to one-way robotic missions that may serve as precursors to human missions to Mars. Included are recommendations regarding levels of cleanliness and biological burden on spacecraft destined for Mars, the methods employed to achieve those levels, and the scientific investigations needed to reduce uncertainty in preventing the forward contamination of Mars. In addition, this report urges dialogue at the earliest opportunity on broader questions about the role of planetary protection policies in safeguarding the planet Mars and an indigenous biosphere, should one exist." For more detials go to: Preventing the Forward Contamination of Mars and Priscu Presentation

5.0 Other Reports

R Bell and C Kennicutt provided a status report on the US National Academies Committee on SALE environmental stewardship issues. SALE members questioned the level of international consultation, participation and buy-in to the report's recomendations when issued. R Bell and C Kennicutt indicated that international membership on the committee was extensively discussed and that 3 members were non-US. They also reminded the group that the National Academies has a rigorous committee member selection process. The final decisions on appointments,  committee membership and composition rest with the Academies. It was also indicated that the primary audience for the report was US funding agencies and scientists but that it was hoped that other nations would take the report's recommendations under advisement in developing their SALE programs.  This is the same process that set international standards for space exploration and plantetary protection. It is expected that the results of the committee's deliberations will be reported in international venues such as the CEP and the ATCM and that further debate and discussion will occur at that time. For more detials go to:

S Bulat attended the Amsterdam SRP "Cross Linkages Workshop" as the SALE representative. The report of the meeting is provided below.

6.0 SCAR Open Science Conference/Delegates Meeting

J Priscu will deliver the SALE Plenary Presentation in Hobart, Tasmania at the SCAR Open Science Conference in July, 2006. The abstract is provided below. J Priscu asked SALE members to provide input and slides for the presentation. An outline for the presentation was agreed and various people were assigned the responsiblity to provide information for the presentation. The presentation will be circulated for review and revision prior to the Hobart meeting.

C Kennicutt will deliver the SCAR SALE Progress Report to the SSGs in Hobart, Tasmania in July 2006. The Report will be delivered to all three SSGs.

C Kennicutt will deliver the SCAR SALE Progress Report to the SCAR Delegates Meeting in Hobart, Tasmania in July, 2006.

7.0 SALE 2006 Workshop -  SCAR SALE members served as the International Steering Committee for the Grenoble Workshop that preceded the SCAR SALE Meeting. SCAR SALE members were asked to assist in developing text for the workshop report.

8.0 Other Matters Arising -

J Priscu proposed to have SCAR SALE Meeting #3 in Big Sky, Montana. He will investigate costs and report back to the group. Tentatively the meeting will be in June, 2007.