Science Objectives

• Investigate recently-discovered subglacial lakes (▲) along the return route.
• New lakes are unusual:
1. located in area with few lakes
2. large, second only to Lake Vostok
3. occur at heads of ice streams
• Opportunity to survey new lakes with radar, GPS, and gravity.

There are more than 150 Subglacial Lakes (SLs) in Antarctica. Lake Vostok is the largest and best known of the Antarctic Subglacial Lakes.
A series of new subglacial lakes have been identified in East Antarctica, located near the traverse return route (near the black triangle on the map to the right). The Traverse project offers us an opportunity to explore these newly discovered lakes with  a range of modern geophysical equipment, including radar, seismic methods, and GPS.
(Click on the map to enlarge.)