Lake Untersee
| Lake Untersee | |
|---|---|
| Location | Untersee Oasis, Dronning Maud Land |
| Coordinates | 71°20′S 13°27′E / 71.333°S 13.450°E |
| Type | glacial |
| Basin countries | (Antarctica) |
| Max. length | 6.5 km |
| Max. width | 2.5 km |
| Surface area | 11.4 km² |
| Max. depth | 169 m |
| Surface elevation | 563 m |
| References | Wand et al.[1] |
Lake Untersee, also known as Lake Unter-See, is the largest surface freshwater lake in the interior of East Antarctica[2]. It is approximately 6.5 km long and 2.5 km wide and permanently covered with ice with an average thickness of 3.0 m in summer.[1] The lake is dammed by the Anuchin Glacier feeding the lake and has no outlet. Water is only lost through evaporation and ablation of the ice cover.
The water chemistry is peculiar with high pH ranging between 9.8 and 12.1, supersaturation with dissolved oxygen (150 %), and a very low primary production. The water temperature varies between 0.5°C and 5°C[1] The lake's sediments may produce more methane than any other natural body of water on our planet.[3]
It was first discovered by the German Antarctic Expedition 1938–39.
In 2008, an expedition under Richard Hoover of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center used the lake as a testbed in its hunt for extraterrestrial life. The conditions of the lake closely mimic those supposed to exist on other moons and planets that contain water ice and methane; thus, if life were found there, it could be speculated that similar forms of life might exist elsewhere in space. The expedition did find several new strains of extremophile microorganisms in the lake's waters, including a chemolithotroph that metabolizes hydrogen.[4]
References
- ^ a b c U. Wand, G. Schwarz, E. Brüggemann and K. Bräuer (1997). "Evidence for physical and chemical stratification in Lake Untersee (central Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica)". Antarctic Science. 9: 43–5. doi:10.1017/S0954102097000060.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ W.-D. Hermichen, P. Kowski & U. Wand (09 May 1985). "Lake Untersee, a first isotope study of the largest freshwater lake in the interior of East Antarctica". Nature. 315 (6015): 131–3. doi:10.1038/315131a0.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Hoover et al. Science@NASA Extremophile Hunt Begins
- ^ Tobin, Kate (2009-09-16). "Extremophile Hunter". Science Nation. National Science Foundation. Retrieved 2009-09-21.