As a reservoir for massive amounts of ice that will cause sea level to rise, what happens in Antarctica has potential to greatly influence our existence in the years to come. Understanding the historical dynamics of the ice sheet is therefore of critical importance for how we anticipate the effects of climate change on our planet. Over 400 lakes lay hidden beneath thousands of feet of ice in Antarctica. Yet Antarctica’s subglacial environment has been so scarcely explored that we know more about the surface of Mars. These subglacial lakes hold a record of the past, historical evidence that will give us clues to understand how the ice might melt in the future. Driven to find these answers, in December 2018, a group of 20 scientists and 30 support staff flew in a ski-plane to a location 300 miles from the South Pole, where they spent three weeks camping on the ice. Using a 2-ton hot water drill, they burrowed almost a mile through the ice to reach Lake Mercer, for the first time ever. This short film follows this team of researchers funded by the National Science Foundation, as they unearth new information about our planet’s changing climate by sampling sediment from an Antarctic subglacial lake buried 3,600 feet below the ice surface. Collecting sediment cores from an Antarctic subglacial lake is a daunting task, which requires over a million pounds of specialized equipment. More importantly, it requires a team with diverse skillsets who are eager to work together towards a common goal. The researchers are driven not only by a thirst for knowledge, but by an ever-increasing need to understand the history and future of Antarctica’s ice sheets. This film showcases both how this research is accomplished and why subglacial sediments are critical in understanding Antarctica’s past and how it will react to global climate change.

Public Showings:

PBS Learning Media 

Crocker Art Museum

Antarctica Television Broadcast 

Raw Science Film Festival

Explorer’s Club Polar Film Festival 

Crocker Art Museum 

Ethnografilm Paris

Frozen River Film Festival

International Visual Sociology Association Conference 

PBS Online