HR: 1340h
AN: C13B-1073    [Abstracts]
TI: Are Antarctic Subglacial Lakes Markers of Geologic Boundaries?
AU: * Smith, A E
EM: adrienne@ldeo.columbia.edu
AF: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964
AU: Bell, R
EM: robinb@ldeo.columbia.edu
AF: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964
AU: Studinger, M
EM: mstuding@ldeo.columbia.edu
AF: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964
AB: Airborne geophysics has revealed the locations of more than 150 subglacial lakes in the Antarctic interior. The spatial distribution of lakes beneath an ice sheet depends on geothermal flux at the ice-bed interface, ice thickness and flow, surface temperature and accumulation rate, as well as the occurrence of basins in the bed topography. The dynamics of the lake environment, as well as the diversity of controls acting on it, account for the difficulty in reproducing or predicting the distribution of known and probable lakes from models. To date, most efforts to predict the distribution of subglacial lakes have focused on the glaciological facets of the problem. Here we examine the role tectonics may play in the distribution of subglacial lakes. Lake Vostok lies along a tectonic boundary between two distinct geologic provinces-relatively flat-lying continental margin sediments to the west of the lake and folded and compressed crust material to the east. This suture is possibly the result of Precambrian tectonic activity which produced the Vostok basin and thus is the fundamental tectonic control on the location of Lake Vostok. This work examines the relative contribution of glaciological and tectonic controls to determine if other subglacial lakes may also reside on geologic or tectonic boundaries.
DE: 0726 Ice sheets
DE: 0746 Lakes (9345)
DE: 9345 Large bodies of water (e.g., lakes and inland seas) (0746)
SC: Cryosphere [C]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005