WISSARD (Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling) will be the first large scale drilling project to examine subglacial ecosystems in a holistic context. The project will investigate the physical, chemical, and geobiological interactions in the subglacial environments poised at the interface of the Antarctic cryosphere, geosphere and global ocean. The WISSARD program connects 9 institutions across the country and includes 13 research groups using specific scientific expertise in three integrated projects, LIZZARD: (Lake and Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling), RAGES: (Robotics Access to Grounding-zones for Exploration and Science), and GBASE: (Geomicrobiology of Antarctic Subglacial Environments). This large-scale interdisciplinary approach to study the subglacial environments of a West Antarctic ice stream provides the unparalleled opportunity to highlight the process of science utilizing novel technology and the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of scientific discovery.

 

 

 

 The glaciological, geological, and hydrological setting of the section
of the Western Antarctic Ice Sheet to be studied by the Wissard program

 

The overarching scientific objective of WISSARD is to examine the subglacial hydrological system of Whillans Ice Stream in glaciological, geological, microbiological, geochemical, and oceanographic contexts. Direct sampling will yield seminal information on these systems and test the overarching hypothesis that active hydrological systems connect various subglacial environments.  These unique environments exert major control on ice sheet dynamics, geochemistry, metabolic and phylogenetic diversity, and biogeochemical transformations. Furthermore, the project aims to train a cohort of new young scientists in a setting of a multidisciplinary, integrated Antarctic science. WISSARD will promote scientific exploration of Antarctica by conveying to the public the excitement of accessing and studying what may be the last unexplored aquatic environments on Earth.