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Igor Zotikov

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Igor Alekseevich Zotikov
Зотиков, Игорь Алексеевич
Igor Alekseevich Zotikov
Zotikov c. 2007
BornMarch 7, 1926
Moscow, Russia
DiedAugust 23, 2010(2010-08-23) (aged 84)
Moscow, Russia
Burial placeVostryakovskoe cemetery
EducationDoctor of Sciences in Geology
Alma materMoscow Aviation Institute
OccupationsGlaciologist, polar explorer, academic
EmployerRussian Academy of Sciences
Known forPredicting the existence of fresh water lakes under the Antarctic ice sheet
Awards

Igor Alekseevich Zotikov (Russian: Зотиков, Игорь Алексеевич) (March 7, 1926 – August 23, 2010) was a Russian glaciologist, polar explorer and academic. Zotikov was best known for predicting the existence of fresh water lakes under the Antarctic ice sheet, later to be discovered as Lake Vostok. For his efforts a glacier was named after him, Zotikov Glacier.

Early life and education

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Zotikov was born on March 7, 1926, in Moscow, Russia.[1] In 1949 Zotikov graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute as an engineer. Although he wanted to be a test pilot, he did not fly due to near-sightedness.[2]

He received his Doctor of Sciences in geology from the Energy Institute Krzhizhanovsky under the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union (Russian Academy of Sciences).[2] Interested in glaciology, he joined the expedition to Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957–1958.[3]

Zotikov wrote his thesis based on the findings from the expedition. The thesis was published in 1963 by the International Association of Hydrological Sciences. Zotikov's thesis discussed the interaction between the ocean and glaciation. Obtaining results from the IGY, regarding thermal physics of large ice sheets, it theoretically showed that in the central part of the ice sheet, there could be continuous melting and freshwater subglacial lakes underneath the Antarctic ice.[4]

Zotikov was not the first scientist to propose the idea of fresh water under the Antarctica's ice sheets. At the end of the 19th century, Peter Kropotkin theorized that the immense weight of ice can cause a significant amount of pressure, which can lower the pressure melting point of the ice sheet's lower parts. As a result, the ice may turn into liquid water..[5]

In 1963 Zotikov wrote his dissertation furthering Kropotkin's theory. His DSc thesis observed that the temperature at the bottom of the ice sheet below Vostok Station is at the melting point of ice and it is located beneath the thickest part of the ice sheet. Zotikov observed that lakes might exist at the ice/rock barrier, and that microorganisms could exist there.[6][5]

Career

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Before Zotikov became a glaciologist, in between college and his postgraduate education, he worked for three years on the heat transfer and thermodynamic problems of designing jet engines. Following that he worked from 1952 until 1958 on the atmospheric entry problems of the first Soviet ballistic missile, the R-7 Semyorka. His work was related to the melting and evaporation of the missile's nose by the heat that was generated re-entering Earth's atmosphere.[6]

After receiving his Doctor of Sciences, Zotikov worked for the Russian Academy of Sciences. During his forty-year career with the academy he spent several years overwintering both at the Russian Vostok Station and United States' McMurdo Station. In 1965, as a Soviet exchange scientist and member of Operation Deep Freeze '65, Zotikov studied the process of freezing and melting at the bottom of the Ross Ice Shelf and collaborated with leading American specialists on deep drilling.[6]

The National Science Foundation invited Zotikov to join the Ross Ice Shelf Project investigating whether freezing or melting occurs at the bottom of the Ross Ice Shelf. He worked on this project from 1972 to 1978 and wrote two papers based on his findings, Thermal Drilling of the Glacier[7] and Antifreeze-thermodrilling for Core Through the Central Part of the Ross Ice Shelf (J-9 Camp), Antarctica.[8] Both papers were published by the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory.

Confirmation of the existence of Lake Vostok occurred in 1993 by G.P. Ridley (UK) using the European Remote-Sensing Satellite's laser altimetry.[5] A subsequent paper was published in the journal Nature in 1996 co-authored by Zotikov.[9]

In 2003 and 2004 Zotikov received a grant from the Fulbright Foundation for eight months on the project Geographical Study of Lake Vostok in Antarctica. The project was conducted under the direction of Roger Barry who was a director at the National Snow and Ice Data Center of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences of the University of Colorado Boulder.[6][10] Zotikov co-authored a paper published in the Journal of Glaciology in 2004 about his findings, The Kolka-Karmadon rock/ice slide of 20 September 2002: An extraordinary event of historical dimensions in North Ossetia, Russian Caucasus.[11]

Books

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Zotikov is the author of two scientific books about his findings in Antarctica. The Thermophysics of Glaciers[12] and The Antarctic Subglacial Lake Vostok: Glaciology, Biology and Planetology,[6] the later summing up his lifetime of scientific papers on the subject.

Zotikov was the first to translate the book The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran into Russian, published by Raduga in 1989. The original publication was in 1923 by Alfred A. Knopf.[13]

In his later years Zotikov wrote several non-fiction books that were self-published in Russia such as I was not looking for a kiwi bird and Picnic on the Appalachian Trail.[14]

legacy and death

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Location of Lake Vostok in East Antarctica

Zotikov was not the first scientist to propose the idea of fresh water under the Antarctica's ice sheets. At the end of the 19th century, Peter Kropotkin theorized that "the tremendous pressure exerted by the cumulative mass of thousands of vertical meters of ice could decrease the melting point at the lowest portions of the ice sheet to the point where the ice would become liquid water".[5]

In 1963 Zotikov wrote his dissertation furthering Kropotkin's theory. His DSc thesis indicated "the temperature at the bottom of the ice sheet below Vostok Station to be at the ice melting point as well as being beneath the thickest part of the ice sheet". It occurred to him that lakes might exist at the ice/rock barrier, and that microorganisms could exist there.[6][5]

Confirmation of the existence of Lake Vostok occurred in 1993 by G.P. Ridley (UK) using the European Remote-Sensing Satellite's laser altimetry.[5] A subsequent paper was published in the journal Nature in 1996 co-authored by Zotikov.[9]

Zotikov died on August 23, 2010, from Prostate cancer[15] and is buried at the Vostryakovskoe cemetery in Moscow, Russia.[16]

Three years after Zotikov's death, On July 3, 2013, a paper was published titled Subglacial Lake Vostok (Antarctica) Accretion Ice Contains a Diverse Set of Sequences from Aquatic, Marine and Sediment-Inhabiting Bacteria and Eukarya in the PLOS One journal by the Public Library of Science, confirming there is life in Lake Vostok.[17]

Recognition and awards

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Publications

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Books

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  • The Antarctic Subglacial Lake Vostok: Glaciology, Biology and Planetology (2006)[6]

Self published books

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Self-published books by Zotikov[14]

Non-fiction
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  • 460 days in the Fourth Soviet Antarctic Expedition (Russian: 460 дней в Четвертой Советской антарктической экспедиции)
  • Year of the American polar explorers (Russian: Год у американских полярников)
  • Unraveling the mysteries of the icy continent (Russian: Разгадка тайн ледяного континента)
  • Winter Soldiers (Russian: Зимние солдаты)
Fiction
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  • I was not looking for a kiwi bird (Russian: Я искал не птицу киви)
  • Picnic on the Appalachian Trail (Russian: Пикник на Аппалачской тропе)
  • Royal Musketeers (Russian: Королевские мушкетёры)
  • Sex without borders (Russian: Секс без границ)
  • Captain Flint's Gold (Russian: Золото капитана Флинта)
  • Assassin's Remorse (Russian: Раскаяние наёмного убийцы)
  • Exorcist and Prince of Darkness (Russian: Экзорцист и Принц Тьмы)
  • War of Two Worlds 2. Battle on Earth (Russian: Война двух миров 2. Битва на Земле)
  • Return shot Rook (Russian: Ответный выстрел Грача)
  • Exorcist and Fire God (Russian: Экзорцист и Огненный бог)
  • The story of the Jester' (Russian: История про шута)

Scientific publications

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Notes

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a.^ Zotikov was the first to translate the book The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran into Russian, published by Raduga in 1989. The original publication was in 1923 by Alfred A. Knopf.

References

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  1. ^ "Профиль Игоря Алексеевича Зотикова на официальном сайте". ras.ru. Russian Academy of Sciences. Retrieved May 19, 2023. Google translation
  2. ^ a b c "За разгадкой тайн ледяного континента (Unraveling the mysteries of the icy continent)". sharlib.com. 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2023. Google translation
  3. ^ Sarkar, Jaimini (2012). "Drilling at Lake Vostok by the Russians". Current Science. 102 (10). Jstor: 1355. JSTOR 24107785. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Zotikov, I.A. (December 29, 2009). "Bottom melting in the central zone of the ice shield of the Antarctic continent and its influence upon the present balance of the ice mass". International Association of Scientific Hydrology. Bulletin. 8 (1). International Association of Hydrological Sciences: 36–44. doi:10.1080/02626666309493295. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Appeal to the Duma on Lake Vostok, Antarctica: ASOC calls on Russia to re-consider penetrating the largest known subglacial lake" (PDF). Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition. April 14, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 21, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Zotikov, Igor A. (2006). The Antarctic Subglacial Lake Vostok: Glaciology, Biology and Planetology. Germany: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. vii. ISBN 978-3-54037-723-8 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ a b Zotikov, Igor A.; Kapitsa, AP; Kudryavtsev, YV; Sukhanov, LA (1974). "Thermal Drilling of the Glacier". Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory. 414: 1–26. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Zotikov, Igor A. (November 1979). Antifreeze-thermodrilling for Core Through the Central Part of the Ross Ice Shelf (J-9 Camp), Antarctica (PDF) (Technical report). New Hampshire: Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory for the National Science Foundation.
  9. ^ a b c Kapitsa, A. P; Ridley, J. K.; Robin, G. de Q.; Siegert, M. J.; Zotikov, I. A. (June 20, 1996). "Large deep freshwater lake beneath the ice of central East Antarctica". Nature. 381 (6584): 684–686. Bibcode:1996Natur.381..684K. doi:10.1038/381684a0. S2CID 4335254. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  10. ^ "Geographical Study of Lake Vostok in Antarctica". fulbrightscholars.org. Fulbright Scholar Program. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Haeberli, Wilfried; Huggel, Christian; Kääb, Andreas; Zgraggen-Oswald, Sonja; Polkvoj, Alexander; Galushkin, Igor; Zotikov, Igor; Osokin, Nikolay (2004). "The Kolka-Karmadon rock/ice slide of 20 September 2002: An extraordinary event of historical dimensions in North Ossetia, Russian Caucasus". Journal of Glaciology. 50 (171): 533–546. Bibcode:2004JGlac..50..533H. doi:10.3189/172756504781829710. S2CID 43886998. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Zotikov, Igor A. (2006). The Thermophysics of Glaciers. Springer Netherlands. ISBN 978-9-40108-530-4 – via Google Books.
  13. ^ a b Kahlil Gibran Collective (January 20, 2020). "Translations for The Prophet now stands at 112". kahlilgibran.com. Retrieved May 16, 2023. Russian: Prorok, trans. Igor Alekseyevich Zotikov, ed. I. Zotikova, Moscow (Russia): Raduga, 1989.
  14. ^ a b "Зотиков Игорь Алексеевич читать онлайн (Zotikov Igor Alekseevich read online)". sharlib.com. Retrieved May 19, 2023. Google translation
  15. ^ a b Dale, Bob (September 2010). "Igor Zotikov Dies" (PDF). The Antartician Society. p. 4. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  16. ^ "Могила И. А. Зотикова". moscow-tombs.ru. Retrieved May 19, 2023. Google translation
  17. ^ Shtarkman, Yury M.; Koçer, Zeynep A.; Edgar, Robyn; Veerapaneni, Ram S.; D’Elia, Tom; Morris, Paul F.; Rogers, Scott O. (July 3, 2013). "Subglacial Lake Vostok (Antarctica) Accretion Ice Contains a Diverse Set of Sequences from Aquatic, Marine and Sediment-Inhabiting Bacteria and Eukarya". PLOS One. 8 (7). Public Library of Science: e67221. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...867221S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0067221. PMC 3700977. PMID 23843994.
  18. ^ "Download Antarctic names (direct download)". usgs.gov (zip). United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  19. ^ "Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated June 23, 2008". kremlin.ru (in Russian). Kremlin. 2008. Retrieved May 18, 2023. Google translation
  20. ^ Zotikov, Igor A.; Gow, Anthony J. (August 14–19, 1966). The Thermal and Compositional Structure of the Koettlitz Ice Tongue, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica (PDF). International Conference on Low Temperature Science; Conference on Physics of Snow and Ice; Conference on Cryobiology. Sapporo, Japan: Hokkaido University.
  21. ^ Zotikov, Igor A.; Zagorodnov, Victor S.; Raikovsky, Juriy V. (March 28, 1980). "Igor A. Zotikov et al. ,Core Drilling Through the Ross Ice Shelf (Antarctica) Confirmed Basal Freezing". Science. 207 (4438): 1463–1465. doi:10.1126/science.207.4438.1463. PMID 17779616. S2CID 20804468. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
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