Workshop to Define a Technology Roadmap for the Exploration and Sampling of Lake Vostok

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This award is for support of a workshop to define a technology roadmap that will enable exploration and sampling under the ice of Lake Vostok in East Antarctica. In particular, the goals will be to identify the technological barriers to sampling the water and sediment of the lake, and to recommend to NSF a technology development plan to overcome these barriers. To achieve these goals, the workshop participants will (1) assess the current state-of-the-art in underwater exploration capabilities in the context of the science goals for future exploration activities; (2) identify critical yet feasible technologies that need to be developed in order to enable the science objectives; and (3) begin a continuing dialog between the science and technology communities over issues of importance to the exploration of subglacial lakes. This workshop will bring together a select group of participants representing the three communities of science, underwater technology and planetary protection/contamination. The workshop will be structured to include prepared presentations (by all three communities), panel discussions and informal discussions. The product of the workshop will be a report documenting the key findings of the workshop, and in particular the technology roadmap required to enable future science in Lake Vostok and other subglacial lakes.