In just over a decade, subglacial lake environments have begun to emerge as the newest frontier in Antarctic science and exploration. Many nations are moving ahead with their own investigations (Boxes 1.1 and 1.2), and there has been much international debate over how to proceed in the effort to understand these unique environments. In response, the international scientific community participated in two workshops (19981 and 19992) to establish the rationale for the study and exploration of subglacial lake environments, assess technological needs for these endeavors and develop a 10-year time line for study and exploration.
During the Cambridge workshop (1999), the scope of investigation was expanded beyond just Lake Vostok to include all subglacial lakes under thick ice sheets. A set of guiding principles was established for future activities. These principles clearly stated that the program must be international and interdisciplinary in nature; noncontami-nating technologies and minimum disturbance must be fundamental considerations in program design and execution; the ultimate goal should be lake entry and sample return to ensure the greatest scientific benefit; and the best opportunity to attain inter-disciplinary scientific goals is by study of larger lakes, therefore Lake Vostok must the ultimate target of study.
Following a recommendation from the Cambridge workshop (1999), the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research constituted a Subglacial Antarctic Lake Exploration Group of Specialists (SALEGOS) in 2000, composed of scientists from SCAR member nations and charged the group to begin a process of discussion and collaborative plan-ning. This group met six times over the next four years and made great progress in developing a science and technology plan for an ambitious program of interdisciplinary exploration and study.
A final recommendation of the SALEGOS was that Subglacial Antarctic Lake Exploration (SALE) progress to a SCAR Scientific Research Program. A SALE proposal and an implementation plan were prepared and submitted to SCAR. In October 2004, SALE was named one of five SCAR major science programs. SCAR SALE3 met for the first time in April 2005, and a second meeting was held in April 2006. The SCAR SALE terms of reference are listed in Box 1.3. To focus certain activities, SCAR SALE has developed a data management policy and established Subcommittees on Data, Technology, and Education, and on Outreach and Communication.
1Subglacial Lakes: A Curiosity or a Focus for Interdisciplinary Research, Washington, D.C., sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation.
2Subglacial Lake Exploration: Workshop Report and Recommendations, Cambridge, U.K., sponsored by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research and the Council of Managers of Antarctic Programs.
3SCAR SALE activities are chronicled on its web site: http://salepo.tamu.edu/scar_sale.
EXPLORATION OF ANTARCTIC SUBGLACIAL AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS
BOX 1.3
SALE Terms of Reference
SALE is charged with the following:
• Oversee and guide the development and execution of the Scientific Research Plan’s (SRP) activities, including changes in course as indicated by events and progress.
• Encourage and facilitate communication and collaboration between scientists and technolo-gists worldwide involved in the exploration of subglacial lake environments while seeking support for the program through national and international mechanisms.
• Advise the international community through SCAR on scientific and technology issues relevant to subglacial lake exploration, including environmental protocols, procedures, concerns, and safeguards.
• Promote collaboration, data access, and data sharing to facilitate and expedite the data syntheses needed to develop and revise the science and technology agenda for the exploration of subglacial lake environments.
• Summarize and report the results of these efforts to the scientific and wider community on an ongoing basis, including regular reporting on the use of SCAR funds.
• Encourage adherence to the agreed guiding principles of exploration and research on sub-glacial lake environments, especially environmental stewardship.
• Be an advocate for exploration of subglacial lake environments in all venues, including na-tional committees, scientific communities, and the public, and establish scientific liaisons and logistics cooperation with other Antarctic entities and activities as appropriate.
• Respond to requests from SCAR for expert advice in a timely manner, including convening of expert groups when needed (i.e., review of Comprehensive Environmental Evaluations).
• Ensure that SRP activities are justified and supportive of the group’s terms of reference.
• Interact and coordinate activities with other SCAR SRPs.
• Provide a centralized focus for outreach efforts, including promotional materials, a web site, an available speaker and topic list, interactive tools for educating the public, a bibliography (includ-ing press releases and articles in the lay print and visual media), meet(includ-ing reports, regular press releases, and contact information for the media.
The main scientific goals of SCAR SALE are to understand the formation and evolution of subglacial lake processes and environments; determine the origins, evo-lution, and maintenance of life in subglacial lake environments; and understand the limnology and paleoclimate history recorded in subglacial lake environments. While there are numerous interesting scientific questions posed in the SCAR SALE program, one of the most important is concerned with the origins, evolution, and maintenance of life in subglacial aquatic environments. The SCAR SALE group speculated that if the residence time of the water in any subglacial aquatic environment is very long, and if the lake is ultra-oligotrophic as well as dark and under pressure, then the life it contains could be unique, possibly providing hitherto unknown species with unusual biochemical or physiological capabilities. Thus any attempt to sample the water, the sediment, or the organisms directly should ensure that the subglacial aquatic environ-ment is not contaminated, especially by carbon substrates that might allow the aquatic system to fundamentally change.
INTRODUCTION
Echoing the guiding principles from the Cambridge workshop (1999), the SCAR SALE group recommended that an integrated science plan for the future be developed to ensure that one type of investigation does not accidentally impact other investiga-tions adversely; that sampling regimes plan for the maximum interdisciplinary use of the samples; and that the sharing of all information promotes greater understanding.
SCAR continues to serve as the international focal point of activities to facilitate coop-eration in the exploration and study of subglacial lake environments in Antarctica, advising the international community on issues related to exploration, research, data management, and other matters.
In addition, members of the U.S. scientific community have formed the U.S. Sub-glacial Antarctic Lake Environments (SALE) Program, which is a long-term explora-tion and research program formed by a group of scientists and technologists who share the goal of a comprehensive and environmentally safe investigation of subglacial environments with a special focus on subglacial lakes (http://salepo.tamu.edu/us_sale/
saleexcom). The U.S. SALE Program seeks to support and facilitate opportunities for U.S. participation in the international collaborative teams that will be addressing com-mon scientific and technological objectives. The U.S. SALE Program includes a series of science, technology, education, and communications or public relations committees.
The committees operate relatively autonomously, responding to requests for advice and, organizing workshops or meeting as appropriate to set the SALE agenda in each focus area. U.S. SALE seeks to liaise with other SALE committees and organizations to develop cross-disciplinary connections and promote venues to consider common issues.
The exploration of subglacial aquatic environments will also be a focus for the International Polar Year (IPY),4 which began on March 1, 2007. Various parties participating in SALE projects have joined together as the SALE Unified Team for Exploration and Discovery (UNITED). Closely coupled with the SCAR SALE, these programs will join together to promote and advance common scientific, technologi-cal, and logistical issues. The ambitious interdisciplinary objectives of SALE can be realized only by multiple exploration programs that will investigate exemplars of the diverse subglacial environments over the next decade or more. The IPY provides an opportunity for an intensive period of initial exploration that will advance scientific discoveries to a new level that could not otherwise be achieved by a single nation or program. Each program is an independently managed campaign with specific scientific objectives, logistical requirements, and management structure that will contribute to, and accrue added value from, a common international research agenda. Synergy is provided by the pooling of resources where appropriate, the sharing of experiences and expertise, the coordination of logistics and technological developments, and a shared vision (more details are provided at http://salepo.tamu.edu/sale_united).
4IPY 2007-2008 will be an intense, internationally coordinated campaign of research that will initiate a new era in polar science. IPY 2007-2008 will include research in both polar regions and recognize the strong links these regions have with the rest of the globe. It will involve a wide range of research disciplines, includ-ing the social sciences, but the emphasis will be interdisciplinary in its approach and truly international in participation. It aims to educate and involve the public and to help train the next generation of engineers, scientists, and leaders.
EXPLORATION OF ANTARCTIC SUBGLACIAL AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS
DETERMINING THE SUITABILITY OF SUBGLACIAL