Lake Vida is a

hypersaline A hypersaline lake is a landlocked body of water that contains significant concentrations of sodium chloride, brines, and other salts, with saline levels surpassing that of ocean water (3.5%, i.e. ). Specific microbial species can thrive in hi ...

lake in

Victoria Valley Victoria Valley is one of the larger McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica. Lake Vida Lake Vida is a hypersaline lake in Victoria Valley, the northernmost of the large McMurdo Dry Valleys, on the continent of Antarctica. It is isolated under year-r ...

, the northernmost of the large

McMurdo Dry Valleys The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a row of largely snow-free valleys in Antarctica, located within Victoria Land west of McMurdo Sound. The Dry Valleys experience extremely low humidity and surrounding mountains prevent the flow of ice from nearby ...

, on the continent of

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

. It is isolated under year-round ice cover, and is considerably more saline than

seawater Seawater, or salt water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has appr ...

. It came to public attention in 2002 when

microbes A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...

frozen in its ice cover for more than 2,800 years were successfully thawed and reanimated.

Introduction

Lake Vida is one of the largest lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valley region and is a closed-basin

endorheic An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes ...

lake. The permanent surface ice on the lake is the thickest non-glacial ice on earth, reaching a depth of at least . The ice at depth is saturated with brine that is seven times as saline as seawater. The high salinity allows the brine to remain liquid at an average yearly water temperature of . The ice cap has sealed the saline brine from external air and water for thousands of years creating a time capsule for ancient DNA. This combination of lake features make Lake Vida a unique

lacustrine A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

. The lake gained widespread recognition in December 2002 when a research team, led by the University of Illinois at Chicago's

Peter Doran Peter T. Doran, Ph.D. is Professor of Geology and Geophysics and John Franks Endowed Chair at Louisiana State University. Prior to 2015, he was faculty in Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Doran specialize ...

, announced the discovery of 2,800‑year‑old

halophile The halophiles, named after the Greek word for "salt-loving", are extremophiles that thrive in high salt concentrations. While most halophiles are classified into the domain Archaea, there are also bacterial halophiles and some eukaryotic species, ...

microbes (primarily filamentous cyanobacteria) preserved in ice layer core samples drilled in 1996. The microbes reanimated upon

thawing Melting, or fusion, is a physical process that results in the phase transition of a substance from a solid to a liquid. This occurs when the internal energy of the solid increases, typically by the application of heat or pressure, which ...

, grew and reproduced. Due to this discovery and the freezing mechanisms forming Lake Vida's ice-seal, Lake Vida is now noted as a location for research into Earth's

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...

and life under extreme conditions, specifically the

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

that could have existed on Mars. The unmanned Lake Vida Meteorological Station monitors climate conditions around the lake year round for such scientific study. A 2010 field campaign, funded by the National Science Foundation through the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Gr ...

, to investigate the microbiology and

geochemistry Geochemistry is the science that uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans. The realm of geochemistry extends beyond the Earth, encompassing the ...

of Lake Vida. Led by Peter Doran and Alison Murray from Nevada's

Desert Research Institute Desert Research Institute (DRI) is the nonprofit research campus of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE), the organization that oversees all publicly supported higher education in the U.S. state of Nevada. At DRI, approximately 460 resea ...

, the expedition recovered ice cores, brine and sediment samples from the lake using clean drilling procedures to avoid contamination. The lake itself has no permanent settlements or infrastructure. The nearby Lake Vida Meteorological Station is unmanned, sending meteorological data to McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research organization. The closest human settlement is Scott Base McMurdo approximately away. In addition to the unmanned observation station, a 5-day emergency supply of food for 6 people is cached from the southwestern shore. Research teams establish temporary camps from which research activities are conducted on short term basis in the summer months.

Composition

Lake Vida does not possess many factors attributed to the existence of life formations. Lake Vida contains high levels of

nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or nos, is a chemical compound, an oxide of nitrogen with the formula . At room temperature, it is a colourless non-flammable gas, and has ...

(N₂O) and also

molecular hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, ...

(H₂). The chemicals are believed to be released from chemical reactions between the brine and underlying sediments. The molecular hydrogen may be crucial as an energy source for life in the lake and aids in justifying the presence of life in an oxygen-deprived environment.

Hydrology

Lake Vida has at least three named inflows: Victoria River, Kite Stream, and Dune Creek. Victoria River passes through the Vida Basin into Victoria Valley,

Victoria Land Victoria Land is a region in eastern Antarctica which fronts the western side of the Ross Sea and the Ross Ice Shelf, extending southward from about 70°30'S to 78°00'S, and westward from the Ross Sea to the edge of the Antarctic Plateau. I ...

ephemeral Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...

glacial A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betwe ...

meltwater from the Upper Victoria Glacier, draining from Victoria Upper Lake, to the northwest, to finally drain into the west end of Lake Vida. Kite Stream is also located in the Vida Basin and flows as ephemeral glacial meltwater west from the Victoria Lower Glacier into the east end of Lake Vida. The United States Geological Survey's Atlas of Antarctic Research maps up to nine Lake Vida inflows or outflows including Victoria River and Kite Stream. The inflows and outflows are normally dry due to average annual temperatures down to at Lake Vida. Meltwater flows for a few weeks in the summer months when temperatures rise sufficiently for the nearby glaciers to melt. The McMurdo Dry Valleys are classified as extreme desert. The area receives less than of

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

a year, in the form of snow that builds the nearby glaciers.

Geology

Main geological features

In the vicinity of Lake Vida, a variety of geological features are noted, the most significant being glaciers, lakes, valleys, ridges, and summits. There are approximately 25 named glaciers within a radius with the nearest being Upper Victoria Glacier, Packard Glacier, Clark Glacier, and Clio Glacier. In the same radius, there are approximately 14 named ridges with the nearest being Robertsons Ridge, Helios Ridge, and Nottage Ridge. In addition to Victoria Valley, there are 16 named valleys with the nearest being Sanford Valley, Barwick Valley and McKelvey Valley. In addition to Upper Victoria Lake that feeds Lake Vida with meltwater, there are approximately 11 other lakes, the nearest being Lake Thomas. The summits around Lake Vida are as follows, Mautino Peak, Mount Saga, Mount Allen, Mount Theseus, Mount Cerberus, Mount Insel, Nickell Peak, and Sponsors Peak.

Other geological features

Other more minor features include benches, cliffs, gaps, and streams. The Victoria Valley dunefield, an approximately 1.5 km² belt which is about 3.1 km long, lies to the east of Lake Vida. It is an important site for research into the landforms and processes of perennial niveo-aeolian environments.

Natural history

Kite Stream is named after a researcher, James Kite, who found numerous meteorites in the area (1977–1978).

History

Lake Vida lies north of Mount Cerberus in the Victoria Valley of Victoria Land. Named by the

Victoria University of Wellington Antarctic Expedition The Antarctic Research Centre (ARC) is part of the School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences at Victoria University of Wellington. Its mission is to research " Antarctic climate history and processes, and their influence on the global clim ...

(1958–59) after Vida (Vaida), a sledge dog of the

Nimrod Expedition The ''Nimrod'' Expedition of 1907–1909, otherwise known as the British Antarctic Expedition, was the first of three successful expeditions to the Antarctic led by Ernest Shackleton and his second expedition to the Antarctic. Its main target, ...

, 1910-13. Lake Vida was originally thought to be frozen to the lakebed.

Economy

Lake Vida has no noted economic features. Any commercial benefits from the scientific expeditions to Lake Vida are indirect.

Life

Scientists have found life in an Antarctic Lake Vida that was sealed off from the outside world by a thick sheet of ice several thousands of years ago. The discovery of the ecosystem pushes the boundaries of what life can endure, and may inform the search for alien microbes on other planets, such as Mars, or on icy moons, for instance, Jupiter's moon Europa.

Species lists

The following eukaryote

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

have been catalogued within 1 degreeAustralian Antarctic Data Center, SCAR Gazetteer
/ref> of Lake Vida:

Kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

ia * Phylum

Arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chiti ...

a : ''Alloptes stercorarii'' ( arachnida,

mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear e ...

), ''

Tydeus Tydeus (; Ancient Greek: Τυδεύς ''Tūdeus'') was an Aetolian hero in Greek mythology, belonging to the generation before the Trojan War. He was one of the Seven against Thebes, and the father of Diomedes, who is frequently known by the pa ...

setsukoae'' (arachnida, mite) *Phylum Rotifera : '' Philodina'' spp. *Phylum

Tardigrada Tardigrades (), known colloquially as water bears or moss piglets, are a phylum of eight-legged segmented micro-animals. They were first described by the German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773, who called them Kleiner Wasserbä ...

: Unknown sp. Kingdom

Fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

Division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

Ascomycota : '' Lepraria'' sp. Kingdom

Plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

ae *Division Bryophyta : ''

Bryum argenteum ''Bryum argenteum'', the silvergreen bryum moss or silvery thread moss, is a species of moss in the family Bryaceae. It is one of the most common mosses of urban areas and can be easily recognized without a microscope. Description The species i ...

'', ''

Bryum pseudotriquetrum ''Ptychostomum pseudotriquetrum'', commonly known as marsh bryum, is a species of moss belonging to the family Bryaceae. It has cosmopolitan distribution. There are two subspecies, Bryum pseudotriquetrum var. pseudotriquetrum and Bryum pseudotri ...

'', ''

Bryum ''Bryum'' is a genus of mosses in the family Bryaceae. It was considered the largest genus of mosses, in terms of the number of species (over 1000), until it was split into three separate genera in a 2005 publication. As of 2013, the classificat ...

subrotundifolium'', ''

Ceratodon purpureus ''Ceratodon purpureus'' is a dioicous moss with a color ranging from yellow-green to red. The height amounts to 3 centimeters. It is found worldwide, mainly in urban areas and next to roads on dry sand soils. It can grow in a very wide variety o ...

'', '' Didymodon gelidus'', '' Grimmia antarctici'', ''Grimmia'' sp., '' Pottia heimii'', '' Sarconeurum glaciale'', *Division

Marchantiophyta The Marchantiophyta () are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of ...

: '' Cephaloziella exiliflora'' Kingdom

Protist A protist () is any eukaryotic organism (that is, an organism whose cells contain a cell nucleus) that is not an animal, plant, or fungus. While it is likely that protists share a common ancestor (the last eukaryotic common ancestor), the exc ...

a *Phylum

Ciliophora The ciliates are a group of alveolates characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to eukaryotic flagella, but are in general shorter and present in much larger numbers, with a different ...

: ''Chilodonella'' sp., ''Epistylis'' sp., ''Euplotes'' sp., ''Halteria'' sp., ''Homalozoon'' sp., ''Nassula'' sp., ''Oxytricha'' sp., ''Pleuronema'' sp., ''Podophrya'' sp., ''Pyxidium'' sp., ''Saprophilus'' sp., ''Spathidium'' sp., ''Sphaerophrya'' sp., ''

Vorticella ''Vorticella'' is a genus of bell-shaped ciliates that have stalks to attach themselves to substrates. The stalks have contractile myonemes, allowing them to pull the cell body against substrates. The formation of the stalk happens after the fr ...

'' sp. *Phylum Sarcomastigophora : '' Acanthocystis'' sp., ''Actinophyrys'' sp., *Phylum Euglenozoa : ''Bodo'' sp. ( kinetoplastid)

References

McMurdo Dry Valley Long Term Ecological ResearchTerrestrial BiologyPaleolimnology of Extreme Cold Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial EnvironmentsSubsurface Ice and Brine SamplingAntarctica Lake Vida Find Life

External links

;Resources

Lake Vida entry
Antarctic Freshwater Diatoms, University of Colorado
Lake Vida entry

Lake Vida entry * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070928104007/http://www.mcmlter.org/queries/met/get_met_tables.jsp?metStation=VIAM McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research VIAM data tables Lake Vida entry
David Darling's Encyclopedia of Astrobiology
Lake Vida entry ;News items
"Lake Water Secret"

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Introduction

Composition

Hydrology

Geology

Main geological features

Other geological features

Natural history

History

Economy

Life

Species lists

See also

References

References

External links