C-528 - Blood Falls Subglacial Processes
PI: Dr. Jill Mikucki
Project Lead: Jill Mikucki
Funding Source: NSF/PLR 1344348
Location: Taylor Glacier, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
Dates: 2013-11-19 to 2015-02-11
Project Summary
This collaborative project will integrate geophysical measurements, molecular microbial ecology, and geochemical analyses to explore a subglacial system known as Blood Falls. Blood Falls is a hypersaline, subglacial brine supporting an active microbial community. The subglacial brine is released from a crevasse at the Taylor Glacier’s surface, providing an access point into an Antarctic subglacial ecosystem. Recent geochemical and molecular analyses support a marine source for the salts and microorganisms in Blood Falls. The last time marine waters inundated this part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys was during the Late Tertiary, suggesting the brine is ancient. No direct samples have been collected from the subglacial source to Blood Falls, so little is known about the brine’s origin or how long it has been sealed below Taylor Glacier. It remains unclear what triggers episodic releases of brine exclusively at the Blood Falls crevasse or the extent to which brine is altered as it rises to the surface. (from Usap.gov)