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LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Under The Ice: Studying one of the last unexplored aquatic environments on Earth
Presented by: Dr. Slawek Tulaczyk and Dr. Brent Christner
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Under the Ice: Studying one of the last unexploredaquatic environments on Earth
Prof. Slawek TulaczykDepartment of Earth and Planetary SciencesUniversity of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
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Old view (book titles):
“The Crystal Desert”“Big Dead Place”
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Ice base seen from a subglacial water cavity below a mile of ice
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The largest wetland on Earth surrounding lakesand rivers (NSF images)
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Was Antarctica always covered by ice?
Yes No
When did Antarctica become covered by ice?
(A) 30,000 years ago(B) 300,000 years ago(C) 3 mln years ago(D) 30 mln years ago(E) 300 mln years ago
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Let’s Pause for Questions
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Where does the water come from?
Ice sheet melts at its base (Llubes et al., 2006)
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(A) Sunlight(B) Radioactive heat(C) Geothermal heat(D) Frictional heating during motion
What are sources of heat beneath ice?
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Water is being squeezed towards the ocean but gets trapped in lakes
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The largest subglacial lake in Antarctica is Lake Vostok
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Subglacial Lake Whillans has drained twice
drainage drainage
Some lakes are active
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>100 active subglacial lakes mapped out in 2003-08
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Ice velocity map from Dr. Ian Joughin, UW
red ~1000 of m/yr,
blue ~100 m/yr,
yellowish-green ~10 m/yr
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mass gainmass gain
surface meltsurface melt
basal meltbasal melt
iceberg iceberg calvingcalving
snowfallsnowfall
ice flowice flow
mass lossmass loss
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Why are Antarctic subglacial lakes worth studying?
(A) They may be microbial habitats(B) Subglacial water bodies help control
ice flow(C) Lake sediments may be archives of
past events in Antarctic climate history(D) All of the above
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Ice base seen from a subglacial water cavity below a mile of ice
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Difficulties with drilling into subglacial environments
Biological Contamination
(NRC 2007 report on Exploration of Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments)
Logistics / Location
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Let’s Pause for Questions
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Website http://www.wissard.org
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Project Schedule
2009-102009-10Tool development2010-112010-11Tool developmentSurface geophysics2011-12 2011-12 Surface geophysicsTest drilling (McM)2012-132012-13Lake and ice streamdrilling2013-142013-14Grounding zone drilling2014-152014-15End of project
Image: Helen Fricker
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A new science traverse platform similar to the South Pole traverse(SP traverse image from Antarctic Sun)
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A new, mobile, and clean hot-water drill integrated into the traverse platform(Enhanced Hot-Water Drill image from Antarctic Sun)
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Conceptual field operational lay out of hot-water drill components (ICDS)
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ICDS
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WISSARD Team (14 PIs, 9 Institutions)WISSARD Team (14 PIs, 9 Institutions)
Slawek TulaczykSlawek TulaczykLISSARD Lead PILISSARD Lead PIRAGES PIRAGES PI
Ross PowellRoss PowellRAGES Lead PIRAGES Lead PILISSARD PILISSARD PI
John PriscuJohn PriscuGBASE Lead PIGBASE Lead PI
Jill MicuckiJill MicuckiGBASE PIGBASE PI
Brent ChristnerBrent ChristnerGBASE PIGBASE PI
Andrew MitchellAndrew MitchellGBASE PIGBASE PI
Andrew FisherAndrew FisherLISSARD/RAGES PILISSARD/RAGES PI
Jeff SeveringhausJeff SeveringhausLISSARD PILISSARD PI
Helen FrickerHelen FrickerLISSARD/RAGES PILISSARD/RAGES PI
Reed SchererReed SchererLISSARD/RAGES PILISSARD/RAGES PI
David HollandDavid HollandRAGES PIRAGES PI
Robert JacobelRobert JacobelRAGES/LISSARD PIRAGES/LISSARD PI
Sridhar AnandakrishnanSridhar AnandakrishnanLISSARD/RAGES PILISSARD/RAGES PI
Project Partners:Ice Core Drilling Services (UW-Madison)Raytheon Polar Services Company (Logistics/Traverse)Deep Ocean Exploration and Research (Sub-Ice Robot etc.)Subglacial Lake Ellsworth Project (UK initiative)
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Antarctic subglacial hydrologic systems are complicated (wetlands, active/passive subglacial lakes, rivers)
Active subglacial lakes are widespread
Their activity may perturb ice flow
They support deep subglacial biosphere that needs to be explored
Summary
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Let’s Pause for Questions
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Under The Ice: Part II
Brent ChristnerDepartment of Biological SciencesLouisiana State University
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Webinar talk points
• The extent of the biosphere
• Life in the cold
• A habitat for microbial life in solid ice
• Large quantities of water beneath the Antarctic ice sheets
• The icy implications for astrobiology
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The extent of the biosphere
• Life inhabits a relatively small portion of the planet.
• Biosphere = portion of Earth where life exists and interacts with the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.
• Most of the life on Earth is a few kilometers above and below the surface.
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Q1: Which of the following regarding life in the biosphere is FALSE?
A) Microbial life existed for billions of years before plants and animals.B) There is more life in the Earth’s subsurface than on the surface.C) The amount of global microbial carbon is about the same as the carbon in all plants.D) There are 1,000,000,000 times more microbes on Earth than stars in the Universe.E) All of the above statements are true.
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Environment # of cells a Pg of Carbon a (1 Pg=1015 g=~1012 lb)
Aquatic habitats 1.2 x 1029 2.2
Soil 2.6 x 1029 26
Oceanic subsurface
3.6 x 1030 303
Terrestrial subsurface
2.5-25 x 1029 22-215
TOTAL 4-6 x 1030 350-550
Data from: a Whitman et al. 1998, PNAS 95:6578-6583
The microbial world is immense
• Prokaryotic carbon: 60-100% of the estimated carbon in plants.• >10 times more cells and biomass in subsurface than the surface• 1,000,000,000 times more microbes on Earth than stars in the Universe!
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Hom
o sapiens
Higher plants
and animals
Origin of life
O2 accum
ulates
in the
atmosphere
Eukaryotes
appear in fossil
record
Geological timescale and major events in Earth’s history
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Pace, N.R. 1997, Science, 276:734-740.
Most of the genetic diversity resides in the microbial world
Archaea
Bacteria
Eucarya
• Life is classified into 3 domains
• Two of the domains are exclusively microbial (Bacteria and Archaea)
• Most of life’s genetic diversity resides in the microbial world
• The “crown radiation”: a peripheral branch on the tree of life
METAZOA
You are here
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http://www.jek2004.com
H2O reservoir Percent of total
Oceans 97.25
Ice caps & glaciers†
2.05
Groundwater 0.68
Lakes 0.01
Soil moisture 0.005
Atmosphere 0.001
Streams & rivers 0.0001
†Contain 75% of the world’s freshwater
The hydrologic cycle: water = life
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Q2: Which most accurately describes conditions in the
biosphere?
A) The biosphere is hot.B) The biosphere is warm.C) The biosphere is cold.
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• 90% (by volume) is cold ocean <5oC
• 70% of Earth’s freshwater is ice
• 14% of the Earth’s surface is polar
• 25% of soils are permafrost
The biosphere is cold
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Life in the cold
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McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
“We have seen no living thing, not even a moss or a lichen… it is certainly a valley of the dead.” R. F. Scott (1903)
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“The biology of Antarctica is almost wholly a marine biology. Other than a few cryoalgae, who colonize melting snowfields, no organisms live on land ice exclusively; there is no terrestrial cryoecosphere”.
In: The Ice: A Journey to Antarctica, S.J. Pyne (1986)
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98% of the Antarctic continent is covered in ice
90% of Earth’s ice is in Antarctica
70% of the planet’s freshwater is frozen in Antarctic ice
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Source: Lonnie Thompson
A habitat for microbial life in solid ice
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Source: Lonnie Thompson
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Guliya, China Sajama, Bolivia
Taylor Dome, Antarctica
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TBAB 1% NA
Bacteria cultured from an ancient glacial ice sample
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Investigators Material Age (years)
Miteva & Brenchley 2005Glacial ice; GISP2,
Greenland 120,000
Abyzov 1993Glacial ice; Vostok,
Antarctica 200,000
Christner et al. 2006Glacial ice; Vostok,
Antarctica>420,000
Christner et al. 2003Glacial ice; Guliya,
China ~750,000
Bidle et al. 2007Glacial ice; Beacon Valley, Antarctica
~8,000,000
Cano and Borucki 1995 Amber 25,000,000
Greenblatt et al. 1999 Amber 120,000,000
Vreeland et al. 2000 Salt crystal 250,000,000
Reports of Viable Microorganisms Revived from Ancient Geological Samples
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Q3: What do you think is the biggest challenge to microbial survival in ancient
ice?
A) Cells require liquid water to sustain biochemical reactions, and there is no liquid water in ice.B) Macromolecules are damaged over extended periods of dormancy, eventually killing the cells.C) The process of freezing results in physical and mechanical damage to cells.D) Extremely cold temperatures are inherently damaging to biological macromolecules.E) Acclimating to 21st century popular music.
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“Microbial habitat consisting of solid ice grains bounded by liquid veins. Two microbes are depicted as living in the vein of diameter dvein surrounding a single grain of diameter D.”
Price, P.B. (2000) A habitat for psychrophiles in deep Antarctic ice. PNAS 97:1247-1251.
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Cryostage Microscopic Image at -20oC of Microbial Cells at the Ice Grain Boundaries
A thin section of glacial ice from the Taylor Glacier (McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica) (A) Bright field image of the ice; (B) the same area under epifluorescence showing DNA-containing cells in the interstitial habitat between ice crystals. Each micrograph is ~1000 m in width.
1
2
3
4
5
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Amino acid + nutrients
Amino acid
Dead cells
Protein synthesis at -15oC in the cold-adapted bacterium Psychrobacter cryohalolentis K5
The persistence of metabolism in ice at low temperatures raises an intriguing question: Are the World’s glaciers and ice sheets active biomes?
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Let’s Pause for Questions
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Large quantities of water exist beneath the Antarctic ice sheets
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Studinger et al. 2003
Suglacial Lake Vostok, Antarctica
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Maintenance of Warm Subglacial Conditions in East Antarctica due to Geothermal Heating
Siegert et al., 2003
Liquid water in the lake is stable due to the combined effect of:
• Geothermal heating
• Insulating properties of a thick ice sheet
• Decreased melting point of H2O at high pressure
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Priscu et al. 1999; ; Christner and Priscu, unpublished.
Microbes in Vostok Accretion Ice
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Ared + Box → Aox + Bred
General equation of life
Ared – a reduced organic (e.g., glucose) or inorganic (e.g., Fe+2) compound.
Box - an oxidized compound such as O2, NO3-, SO4
2-, CO2, Fe+3, Mn+4, etc.
ENERGYENERGY
• A continuous supply of reductants and oxidants is essential to maintain an ecosystem and life.
• Life = e- transfer
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Q4: Which energy source is most important to life on Earth’s surface?
A) SolarB) ChemicalC) FusionD) Wind
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Energy flow in ecosystems
ATP = the energy “currency” for life
Substrates produced via autotrophic
activity (CO2-fixation) ???
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Christner et al. 2008; Psychrophiles: From Biodiversity to Biotechology, Springer
Hypothetical scenario for lithotrophy in Subglacial Lake Vostok
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Let’s Pause for Questions
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Q5: What is the point of searching for life in extreme icy environments on Earth?
A) Icy environments are a significant component of the Earth’s biosphere.B) Studying life in cold environs on Earth provides information on the possibility of ET life on icy worlds.C) Microbes isolated from cold environs synthesize biomolecules that have medical and industrial applications.D) There really is no point. E) A, B, and C
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Antarctica Global
ParameterSubglacial lakes, ice sheets, and ground water
Fresh Waters
Open Ocean
Ground water
Soils
Cell number 4.00 x 1028 1.31 x 1026 1.01 x 1029 1.20 x 1030 2.60 x 1029
Cell-C (Pg) 1.15 x 100 3.63 x 10-3 2.79 x 100 3.46 x 101 7.49 x 100
DOC (Pg) 1.00 x 101 1.16 x 100 6.85 x 10-2 4.20 x 101 NA
All carbon values in petagrams (Pg = 1015 g = ~1012 pounds)
Source: Priscu et al. 2007; Priscu and Christner 2004;Whitman et al. 1998; Lanoil et al. 2009
Estimated concentration of cells and organic carbon in the Antarctic cryoecosphere
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Europa - If there is life, europans may share many similarities with microbial communities found in subglacial aquatic environments.
Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera
Ski Mars? - Recent and recurring glacial activity in tropical and mid-latitude
regions.
The icy implications for astrobiology
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Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YEAR
OC -32.1 -44.3 -57.9 -64.7 -65.6 -65.2 -66.9 -67.6 -66.0 -57.1 -43.3 -32.1 -55.1
Average Surface Temperature at Vostok, Antarctica
Minimum(CO2 ice; high elevations
at winter poles)
Maximum(dark tropical regions
in summer) AVERAGE
OC -133 27 -55
Temperatures on the Surface of Mars
WORLD RECORD:-89.5°C (July 21, 1983)
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Cored 3623 m
Accretion ice~240 m thickType 1Type 2
Lake sediments300-400m thick
Ice flow
Water, microbes, inorganic particles, gases, ions
Methane hydrates?
Geothermal?
melt water
refreeze circulation
LAKE VOSTOK(life in the dark-yes)
Liquid water depth >1000 m
Loss of accreted iceand associated matter
Clathrates?
~EUROPA(life in the dark?)(after Greenberg & Geissler, 2002)
Sunshine = photosynthesis
Comets = organicsRadiation from Jupiter’s magnetosphere = oxidants
-180 oC
Subice Ocean: a habitat for life and a reservoir of endogenous and exogenous substances
0 oC
Tid
al m
ixin
g
Tide crack (103 y lifetime)Chaotic Ice layer: thickness ~1.5-150 km
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“Habitable Zone”
Is surficial liquid water (Earth-like conditions) a prerequisite for habitability?
0.5
1
2
0 0.1 1 10 40
Mas
s of
sta
r re
lativ
e to
Su
n
Radius of orbit relative to Earth’s
Venus
EarthMars
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0.5
1
2
0 0.1 1 10 40
Mas
s of
sta
r re
lativ
e to
Su
n
Radius of orbit relative to Earth’s
“Habitable Zone?”
Lessons learned from icy environments on Earth are broadening the search for ET life
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GanymedeCallisto
TitanMars
Europa
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Conclusions• From an evolutionary and ecological perspective, the Earth is a microbial planet.
• The majority of the biosphere is permanently cold.
• Biological processes persist under frozen conditions, implying that the World’s glaciers may be active biomes.
• Subglacial microbiota and ecosystems are expected to be unique from those found on Earth’s surface.
• The Antarctic cryoecosphere contains a significant pool of microbial cells and carbon.
• Subglacial environs provide tractable analogs to evaluate the possibility of life in icy extraterrestrial environments.
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Thank you to the sponsor of tonight's Web Seminar:
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http://learningcenter.nsta.org
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http://www.elluminate.com
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National Science Teachers AssociationDr. Francis Q. Eberle, Executive Director
Zipporah Miller, Associate Executive Director Conferences and Programs
Al Byers, Assistant Executive Director e-Learning
LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP
NSTA Web SeminarsPaul Tingler, Director
Jeff Layman, Technical Coordinator