Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the
Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 192.
Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments is the first volume
on this important and fascinating subject. With its underlying
theme of bridging existing knowledge to future research, it is a
benchmark in the history of subglacial lake exploration and study,
containing up-to-date discussions about the history and background
of subglacial aquatic environments and future exploration. The main
topics addressed are identification, location, physiography, and
hydrology of 387 subglacial lakes; protocols for environmental
stewardship and protection of subglacial lake environments; details
of three programs aiming to explore Vostok Subglacial Lake,
Ellsworth Subglacial Lake, and Whillans Subglacial Lake over the
next 3-5 years; assessment of technological requirements for
exploration programs based on best practices for environmental
stewardship and scientific success; and knowledge of subglacial
lakes as habitats for microbial life and as recorders of past
climate and ice sheet change. Its uniqueness, breadth, and
inclusiveness will appeal to microbiologists and those interested
in life in extreme environments, paleoclimatologists and those
interested in sedimentary records of past changes, glaciologists
striving to understand how water beneath glaciers affects their
flow, and those engaged in developing technology to undertake
direct measurement and sampling of extreme environments on Earth
and in the solar system.
