These last couple weeks have been pretty remarkable. While continuing our investigation of life in the "Valley of the Dead," I've encountered the "Zen-garden" of Antarctica (a Mars-like landscape of windblown rocks), witnessed the complete destruction of an aluminum climbing carabiner (eaten away by Lake Bonney's bacteria), and sat down to thanksgiving dinner with a team of NASA scientists...
Our crew has been working up and down the Taylor Valley, winching up water samples from all different depths! After successfully drilling through Fryxell, I thought the next three lakes would pose no problems. However, nothing proves to be "easy" in the Dry Valleys - just rinsing the dishes can be quite the operation. But even with the routine mechanical breakdown, the "Limno Team" managed to stay on schedule and collect our samples.
Not only do we collect water samples from each lake, but we also measure ice thickness, light intensity, water temperature, salinity, and other physical attributes that may impact biological processes.
Bacteria from East Lake Bonney
Shown below is a sediment trap, which was at the base of Lake Bonney for three years. The trap catches minerals that have melted their way through the surface ice-eventually reaching the lake's floor and providing nourishment to hungry bacteria. This trap will help determine the rate and mass of sediment falling to the bottom depths.
It took plenty of resources to pull this trap out... Using our "Hotsy," hot glycol (160F) is pumped through a metal coil that slowly melts through the dense lake ice. After about two days of continuous heating, our hole grew from 4 inches in diameter to around 8 feet!
The Dry Valley lakes are quite the ecosystem. As our Principle Investigator, John Priscu, puts it, this is "Antarctica's Oasis." And its true! Out in the Dry Valley's, life is abundant under the ice. Each lake is unique from another - differentiating in both biological and physical properties. The bottom depths of Lake Fryxell may stink of sulfur, but out at the notoriously salty Lake Bonney, it smells like the beach (and its the closest I'll get to one until January)!
Off to McMurdo for the Week