Lake CECs

79°14′49″S 87°38′28″W / 79.2470°S 87.6411°W / -79.2470; -87.6411Lake typeSubglacialBasin countriesAntarctica (Territory only claimed by Chile)Surface area18 km² (10 sq mi)^[1]Surface elevation~ −600 m (−2,000 ft) sea level; −2.65 km (−8,700 ft) ice surface^[1]Islands0

Lake CECs is a subglacial lake in Antarctica at approximately latitude 80°S. It has an estimated area of 18 km². The territory where the lake is located, some 160 km from Union Glacier, is claimed only by Chile.

The lake is located in a buffer zone of three major West Antarctic glaciers. The movement of the ice is almost nonexistent and the area is in a situation of low disturbance. This allows the body of water to be extremely stable, with minimal mass exchanges with its environment.^[1] This favors the hypothesis that the lake could support endemic life, which would have developed in extreme isolation.^[2]

Lake CECs was discovered by the Chilean research center Centro de Estudios Científicos (CECs). The first signs of the lake were detected during Antarctic summer in January 2014, when a mobile research station team journeyed through the central plateau of West Antarctica. Measurements showed unusual subglacial radar returns, indicating the presence of a waterbody at some 2.6 km depth under the ice. An initial mapping with an ice-penetrating radar confirmed the finding. The research team returned in summer of 2015 and the mapping was completed. The findings were published in a Geophysical Research Letters report by four members of the CECs Glaciology Laboratory.^[2]

References

Further reading

• (in Spanish) Spanish Article (Lago CECs)
• Glaciology Laboratory of CECs and University of Chile article
• Emol Artícle (El Mercurio Newspaper, Chile)
• "Las Últimas Noticias" Newspaper article
• BioBio Chile Radio Article.