Developing a hot-water drill system for the WISSARD project: 1. Basic drill system components and design

Rack, Frank R; Duling, Dennis; Blythe, Daren; Burnett, Justin; Gibson, Dar; Roberts, Graham; Carpenter, C.R.; Lemery, Jeff; Fischbein, Steve

doi:10.3189/2014aog68a031

Cited by 32 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…SLW water and sediments were collected through a ~0.6 m diameter borehole that was created with a microbiologically clean, hot water drilling system (Blythe et al, ; Burnett et al, ; Priscu et al, ; Rack et al, ; Tulaczyk et al, ). Lake water samples were collected with a clean 10 L Niskin bottle and sediments were recovered using a clean gravity multicorer (Uwitec).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biogeochemical Connectivity Between Freshwater Ecosystems beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and the Sub‐Ice Marine Environment

Vick‐Majors

Michaud

Skidmore

et al. 2020

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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Although subglacial aquatic environments are widespread beneath the Antarctic ice sheet, subglacial biogeochemistry is not well understood, and the contribution of subglacial water to coastal ocean carbon and nutrient cycling remains poorly constrained. The Whillans Subglacial Lake (SLW) ecosystem is upstream from West Antarctica's Gould‐Siple Coast ~800 m beneath the surface of the Whillans Ice Stream. SLW hosts an active microbial ecosystem and is part of an active hydrological system that drains into the marine cavity beneath the adjacent Ross Ice Shelf. Here we examine sources and sinks for organic matter in the lake and estimate the freshwater carbon and nutrient delivery from discharges into the coastal embayment. Fluorescence‐based characterization of dissolved organic matter revealed microbially driven differences between sediment pore waters and lake water, with an increasing contribution from relict humic‐like dissolved organic matter with sediment depth. Mass balance calculations indicated that the pool of dissolved organic carbon in the SLW water column could be produced in 4.8 to 11.9 yr, which is a time frame similar to that of the lakes’ fill‐drain cycle. Based on these estimates, subglacial lake water discharged at the Siple Coast could supply an average of 5,400% more than the heterotrophic carbon demand within Siple Coast embayments (6.5% for the entire Ross Ice Shelf cavity). Our results suggest that subglacial discharge represents a heretofore unappreciated source of microbially processed dissolved organic carbon and other nutrients to the Southern Ocean.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biogeochemical Connectivity Between Freshwater Ecosystems beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and the Sub‐Ice Marine Environment

Vick‐Majors

Michaud

Skidmore

et al. 2020

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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“…At the time of sampling, the transition from sea‐ice to the open water of McMurdo Sound was approximately 48 km to the north of the sampling site. The 56 m deep borehole (∼ 60 cm diameter) that penetrated into the sub‐ice shelf cavity was created with a clean access hot water drill (Blythe et al ; Burnett et al ; Rack et al ) on 18 December 2012. The sub‐ice shelf cavity is defined as the ocean beneath the ice‐shelf.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biogeochemistry and microbial diversity in the marine cavity beneath the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica

et al. 2015

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Ice shelves surround 75% of Antarctica's coastline and are highly sensitive to climate change; several have recently collapsed and others are predicted to in the near future. Marine waters beneath ice shelves harbor active ecosystems, while adjacent seas can be important areas of bottom water formation. Despite their oceanographic significance, logistical constraints have resulted in few opportunities to directly sample subice shelf cavities. Here, we present the first data on microbial diversity and biogeochemistry beneath the

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“…To minimize the potential for water exchange, the borehole water level was lowered prior to penetration into the lake cavity, which allowed lake water to enter the borehole and prevented drilling water from entering the lake proper [32]. A hot water drill and water treatment unit were designed specifically for the WISSARD project [47,48]. The drilling water was circulated through the treatment system, which consisted of two filtration modules (2.0 and 0.2 µm pore size) to remove particulates and two germicidal UV lamps that delivered dosages of 40 000 µW s −1 cm −1 at 185 nm and 175 000 µW s −1 cm −1 at 245 nm to destroy organics [46,47].…”

Section: Sampling Subglacial Lake Whillans (A) Clean Access Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A hot water drill and water treatment unit were designed specifically for the WISSARD project [47,48]. The drilling water was circulated through the treatment system, which consisted of two filtration modules (2.0 and 0.2 µm pore size) to remove particulates and two germicidal UV lamps that delivered dosages of 40 000 µW s −1 cm −1 at 185 nm and 175 000 µW s −1 cm −1 at 245 nm to destroy organics [46,47]. After passing through the filtration and UV treatment system, the drilling fluid was heated to 90 • C and pressurized for drilling operations within the boiler units [49], which also served to 'flash pasteurize' the water.…”

Section: Sampling Subglacial Lake Whillans (A) Clean Access Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subglacial Lake Whillans microbial biogeochemistry: a synthesis of current knowledge

Mikucki

Lee

Ghosh

et al. 2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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Liquid water occurs below glaciers and ice sheets globally, enabling the existence of an array of aquatic microbial ecosystems. In Antarctica, large subglacial lakes are present beneath hundreds to thousands of metres of ice, and scientific interest in exploring these environments has escalated over the past decade. After years of planning, the first team of scientists and engineers cleanly accessed and retrieved pristine samples from a West Antarctic subglacial lake ecosystem in January 2013. This paper reviews the findings to date on Subglacial Lake Whillans and presents new supporting data on the carbon and energy metabolism of resident microbes. The analysis of water and sediments from the lake revealed a diverse microbial community composed of bacteria and archaea that are close relatives of species known to use reduced N, S or Fe and CH4 as energy sources. The water chemistry of Subglacial Lake Whillans was dominated by weathering products from silicate minerals with a minor influence from seawater. Contributions to water chemistry from microbial sulfide oxidation and carbonation reactions were supported by genomic data. Collectively, these results provide unequivocal evidence that subglacial environments in this region of West Antarctica host active microbial ecosystems that participate in subglacial biogeochemical cyclingauthorsversionPeer reviewe

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Developing a hot-water drill system for the WISSARD project: 1. Basic drill system components and design

Cited by 32 publications

References 12 publications

Biogeochemical Connectivity Between Freshwater Ecosystems beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and the Sub‐Ice Marine Environment

Biogeochemical Connectivity Between Freshwater Ecosystems beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and the Sub‐Ice Marine Environment

Biogeochemistry and microbial diversity in the marine cavity beneath the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica

Subglacial Lake Whillans microbial biogeochemistry: a synthesis of current knowledge

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