(a) whether a lake has been discovered beneath some 2300 feet of compressed snow in
Antarctica;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government has conducted/proposes to conduct any study on the impact of
global warming on Antarctica and all over the world;
(d) if so, the details thereof; and
(e) the steps taken by the Government in this regard?
MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT,MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, MINISTER OF
EARTH SCIENCES AND MINISTER OF TELECOMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY(SHRI KAPIL SIBAL)
(a) & (b) Yes Madam. Till date more than 150 lakes have been identified beneath the thick
Antarctic ice sheet (Data from Studinger, lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, 2006). Most of
these lakes (called “sub-glacical lakesâ€) are covered under 3-4 kilometers of ice and are
several kilometers long. Lake Vostok (location: 107.50E, 88.50S) which is the largest among
these lakes, occupies an area of the about 14,000 km2 and lies beneath about 4 km of ice. The
water depth of the lake is over 900 m.
(c) & (d) Global Change Research forms an important component of the scientific studies being
carried out by Indian scientists in Antarctica. Considering the importance of greenhouse gases
in modulating global climate change, since the XXI season (2001-02) Indian Scientific
Expedition to Antarctica, scientists from the National Physical Research Laboratory, New Delhi
have carried out online measurements of CO2 and CH4 by Gas Chromotagraph, CO by IR CO-analyser
and remote measurement of columnar water vapour using MICROTOPS, at the Indian station Maitri.
Carbon monoxide: Diurnal variation has been observed with higher CO concentration in daytime
sunlight period. Increasing concentrations of CO has been observed with decreasing duration
of sunlight period.
In addition, scientists from Geological Survey of India have been carrying out systematic
monitoring of the fluctuations of the continental ice margin in the Western Schirmacher ranges
since 1983. The observations indicate a glacial recession of about 7 m per decade.
(e) Considering the implications of variations in Greenhouses gases over Antarctica
due to global warming, a larger spatial and temporal database need to be established. The
Indian scientific community and scientists from other countries have been analyzing and
synthesizing a variety of data collected from geographically distinct localities in the
quest to arrive at conclusions.