Radar sounding survey over Devon Ice Cap indicates the potential for a diverse hypersaline subglacial hydrological environment

• Main Authors: Rutishauser, Anja, Blankenship, Donald D., Young, Duncan A., Wolfenbarger, Natalie S., Beem, Lucas H., Skidmore, Mark L., Dubnick, Ashley, Criscitiello, Alison S.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Arctic; Devon Ice Cap; Ice cap
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-220; https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2021-220/

Prior geophysical surveys provided evidence for a hypersaline subglacial lake complex beneath the center of Devon Ice Cap, Canadian Arctic; however, the full extent and characteristics of the hydrological system remained unknown due to limited data coverage. Here, we present results from a new, targeted aerogeophysical survey that provides evidence (i) supporting the existence of a subglacial lake complex and (ii) for a network of shallow brine/saturated sediments covering ~170 km 2 . Newly resolved lake shorelines indicate three closely spaced lakes covering a total area of 24.6 km 2 . These results indicate the presence of a diverse hypersaline subglacial hydrological environment with the potential to support a range of microbial habitats, provide important constraints for future investigations of this compelling scientific target, and highlight its relevance as a terrestrial analog for aqueous systems on other icy worlds.