iLake El’gygytgyn (Lake E) s a 3.6 million year old impact crater lake with a diameter of 12 km and a water depth of 170 m. During the last 8 years the sedimentary record of the lake has become a major focus of multidisciplinary multi-national paleoclimatic research. Recently, the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) has provided funding for a drilling operation on the lake and in its permafrost catchment in 2007/08. DOSECC will be the drilling contractor for the Lake E project.
The scientific objectives of this project are as follows:
Paleoclimate: Collect samples of the lake sediments in order to document the paleoclimate history of the arctic since the mid-Pliocene. Lake El'gygytgyn is in a unique location in the Arctic that has not been glaciated and therefore offers the potential for a continuous record since the basin was formed by a meteorite impact at 3.58 Ma.
Meteorite Impact: Collect samples of the impact rocks to evaluate impact and cratering processes.
Permafrost: Collect core samples of permafrost to compliment the paleoclimate record from the lake basin.
Some additional project-specific topics include:
1. Ice drilling – Drilling from ice requires minimizing drilling rig weight and distributing the weight of the rig and ancillary buildings across the ice; the necessity of using both soft sediment and hard-rock coring techniques to collect samples; and sample storage (permafrost cores will have to be maintained frozen while the lake cores will have to be prevented from freezing);
2. Logistics – Options for transporting the rig to the lake; availability and quality of fuel; reliability of the food supply, etc.; and
3. Personnel – What is the best way to house, clothe, and feed the drill crews and scientists in a remote arctic environment?
Toasting the signing of the Lake E Memorandum of Understanding (left to right): Project PI’s Martin Melles, Julie Brigham-Grette, and Pavel Minyuk; Deputy Director Romashov and Director Bilal Khakhaev (NEDRA), Tom Quinn (VECO),
Dennis Nielson (DOSECC), and Grigoriy (Grisha) Fedorov (AARI). (Photo courtesy of Tom Quinn)
Project Links:
Lake El´gygytgyn, central Chukotka, NE Siberia, Russian Federation.
IRIS Real-Time Earthquake Map
©2010 DOSECC All rights reserved
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0829286. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions
or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Nominations Now Being Accepted for DOSECC Board of Directors
and
Science Planning Committee
ICDP Training Course:
Lightening the Darkness: From Borehole Measurements to Earth Models
Workshop Report:
THE FUTURE OF CONTINENTAL SCIENTIFIC DRILLING:
U.S. PERSPECTIVE
13th Annual Continental Scientific Drilling Workshop
dates to be determined Salt Lake City, UT, USA