In the 1970s scientists discovered a subglacial lake, approximately the size of the UK's Lake Windermere. Named Lake Ellsworth after Lincoln Ellsworth, who made numerous Antarctic expeditions between 1933-1939, it is hidden at the bottom of a deep trough, itself hidden 3km beneath the centre of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (78°58'34''S, 090°31'04''W). Seismic studies have shown that Lake Ellsworth covers an area of 29km² and is roughly 150m deep.
This is not the first subglacial lake to have been discovered however. Research has revealed that Antarctica's enormous ice sheet conceals over 380 such lakes, some of which are thought to be as old as the ice sheet itself, at around 150,000 years. They exist because low heat levels emanating from the Earth's core are only sufficient to melt the base of the ice sheet. Due to their isolation from upper atmospheric conditions and climates, there is rich potential for unusual life forms, which offers scientists enormous promise for research into the evolution of life itself. Furthermore, analysis into the lake floor sediments could allow conclusions into past climate to be drawn and whether the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has collapsed before.
These lakes also present opportunities for seemingly unrelated research fields; sediments on lake floors could yield important clues to understanding past climates and provide insights into the extraterrestrial environment of Europa, one of Jupiter's moons.
Following an expedition to map Lake Ellsworth in 2008, October 2012 will see a team of 10 British engineers, multi-disciplinary scientists and camp managers travel to the Antarctic to explore this ancient, isolated world. They will brave extreme Antarctic weather wind chills reaching -70°C coupled with gusts over 100mph - living and working for approximately eight weeks to carry out their important research.
To avoid contaminating the delicate internal environment sealed under the ice, as well as the scientific strand of the expedition, an engineering team will also have the aims of designing, constructing and deploying hot water drilling technology to penetrate 3km of densely packed ice in the ice sheet above Lake Ellsworth. Design and construction of a sophisticated probe to take water and sediment samples from the lake will also be a major objective. At the time of writing, the construction of the drill in the UK has been completed and it has been transported to Punta Arenas, Chile, awaiting further transportation to Antarctica.
This expedition has seen the creation of a Subglacial Lake Ellsworth consortium, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), which draws together two NERC Centres of Excellence; the British Antarctic Survey and the National Oceanography Centre; and eight UK universities.
Montane will be sponsoring this revolutionary expedition, providing the Lake Ellsworth team with clothing suitable for living and working in the beautiful but harsh and freezing Antarctic. All members of the scientific and engineering teams will be provided with a number of items, amongst which our Resolute Smock, which has been tried and tested by polar expeditions for almost 20 years. Its EPIC® outer fabric and CORDURA® H²O reinforcements make the Resolute extremely durable, which will be essential when coping with sub-zero wind chills and fierce winds. An exceptionally thick pile lining (DRYACTIV® 3000) will protect team members from glacial temperatures, enabling them to keep their core body temperature stable. As one participant of a previously sponsored expedition remarked:
"Montane has kept me warm and safe and alive in some of the most extreme conditions in the world."
To find out more, visit www.ellsworth.org.uk or keep abreast of progress made on facebook.
To find out more about the British Antarctic survey, visit www.antarctica.ac.uk.
Photography and graphics
Main photograph: British camp deep field, Lake Ellsworth
Top left graphic: Lake Ellsworth (on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet) - one of 387 known subglacial lakes in Antarctica, © Martin Siegert & Andrew Wright/University of Edinburgh
