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hubie writes:

Newly Discovered Lake May Hold Secret to Antarctic Ice Sheet's Rise and Fall:

Scientists investigating the underside of the world's largest ice sheet in East Antarctica have discovered a city-size lake whose sediments might contain a history of the ice sheet since its earliest beginnings. That would answer questions about what Antarctica was like before it froze, how climate change has affected it over its history, and how the ice sheet might behave as the world warms.

[...] Because it lies relatively close to the coast, researchers think that Lake Snow Eagle might contain information about how the East Antarctic Ice Sheet first began and the part played by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, a ring of cold water circling the continent that scientists think is responsible for keeping it cool.

[...] Moving forward, the researchers said getting a sample of the lake's sediments by drilling into it would fill big gaps in scientists' understanding of Antarctica's glaciation and provide vital information about the ice sheet's possible demise from climate change.

[...] "This lake's been accumulating sediment over a very long time, potentially taking us through the period when Antarctica had no ice at all, to when it went into deep freeze," said co-author Martin Siegert, a glaciologist at Imperial College London. "We don't have a single record of all those events in one place, but the sediments at the bottom of this lake could be ideal."

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