Study finds life 800 metres beneath the Antarctic ice sheet
WISSARD, an American led study funded by the National Science Foundation to discover life under the Antarctic ice sheet, has published its findings this week. In late January of 2013 the WISSARD team made scientific and engineering history when they retrieved water and sediment samples from Lake Whillans which lies 800 metres (2600 feet) beneath the Antarctic ice sheet. Writing in the journal Nature, the team reports that water and sediment samples taken from the lake prove it supports a microbial ecosystem. Aberystwyth University scientist Dr Andrew Mitchell was one of only two European based scientists to have taken part in the mission. Dr Mitchell, a researcher at the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, worked in laboratories located on the ice-shelf above Lake Whillans in Antarctica during December 2012 and January 2013. His work focused on testing water and sediment samples taken to determine the presence of chemical signals of microbial activity. Combined with microbial...