Glaciologists, geochemists and biologists will use the lower portions of the Vostok ice core, which was drilled in 1998, to learn more about the subglacial lake known to exist under the ice at Russias Vostok Station, high on the polar plateau. Joint investigative protocols will allow scientists to explore some intriguing questions about the lake while insuring the compatibility and consistency of individual investigations.

Major questions that will provide the framework for future research on the ice core include: How is the ice formed and what is its age? What does the geochemistry of the ice reveal about the lake and its origin? What kinds of organisms are present in the lake and how did they get there?

The agreement was reached at a meeting of U.S., French and Russian scientists held in April at the National Science Foundation (NSF) headquarters in Arlington, Va. Participants included the directors of the U.S., French and Russian Antarctic programs as well as scientists and program managers who support or conduct research on the Vostok ice core.

NSF funds and manages the U.S. Antarctic Program, which supports almost all U.S. research on the continent and in surrounding waters.

The ice samples were drilled at Vostok Station under the terms of a U.S., French and Russian scientific collaboration that has made important contributions to the understanding the last 420,000 years of the Earth's climate. Research on these samples has delivered valuable insights for understanding the forces that drive climate change.

The samples governed by the agreement were left at Vostok Station until the 2001-2002 austral summer, whe
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Contact: Peter West
pwest@nsf.gov
703-292-8070
National Science Foundation
28-May-2002