Detecting and Searching for subglacial lakes through airborne radio-echo sounding in Princess Elizabeth Land (PEL), Antarctica

Abstract

Over 400 subglacial lakes were discovered in Antarctica through radio-echo sounding (RES) method and remote sensing. Subglacial lakes have significance in lubricating ice-bedrock interface and enhancing ice flow. Moreover, ancient lives may exist in the extreme environment. Since 2015, the “Snow Eagle 601” BT-67 airborne platform has been deployed and applied to map ice sheet and bedrock of Princess Elizabeth Land. One of great motivations of airborne surveys is to detect and search for subglacial lakes in the region. In this paper, we provided preliminary results of RES over both old and new discovered lakes, including Lake Vostok, a potential second large subglacial lake and other lakes beneath interior of the ice sheet in Antarctica.