Lake Mercer is a subglacial body of water that is believed to have formed thousands of years ago. It’s beneath 4,000 of Antarctic ice and is without a doubt one of the most isolated lakes on this planet. Scientists will soon be drilling into it so that they can explore this ancient lake and its contents as part of a project called Subglacial Antarctic Lakes Scientific Access or SALSA.
The SALSA project aims to find out more information about the many subglacial lakes in Antarctica. That are some 400 such lakes that are known to exist. The scientists will first be exploring one of the largest subglacial lakes in this part of the world called Lake Mercer.
The scientists are going to bore through 4,000 feet of ice with a 60-centimeter-wide drill hot water-capped drill. They will be extracting mud and water samples. A remotely operated vehicle will be deployed as well which is a first for a subglacial lake.
This project aims to study how water might flow in and out of these reservoirs buried under heavy ice. They will be looking for clues on how life and to survive in such conditions and the environmental factors that led to the formation of these lakes.
Filed in .. Source: gizmodo