Hydrological regime of subglacial lake Vostok (Antarctica) based on geochemical studies of ice core and lake water
The main results of the subglacial Lake Vostok (Antarctica) hydrological regime investigations are presented as based on the lake ice and water isotope content studies and modeling. It is shown that the lake ice is formed in equilibrium with the water, which makes the ice to reject the gas, mineral, chemical and microbiological impurities. The variability of the stable isotopes in the lake ice is an evidence of the not complete mixing of the glacier melt and resident lake waters, as well as of the significant contribution of the hydrological sources to the lake. The experiments simulating the water freezing in a cylindrical borehole have allowed to develop the methodology of the analysis of the secondary ice formed as a result of the water rising to the borehole after the first penetration to the lake on the 5th of February 2012.