A survey of suitable sites in the Wright Valley for boreholes and a study of Lake Vanda sediments

Two weeks were spent in the Wright Valley to survey suitable sites for boreholes to be put down as part of the International Drilling Programme. It was proposed to core the entire thickness of bottom sediments in Lake Vanda to elucidate, among other things, aspects of lake stratigraphy, petrology and hydrology, geothermal gradients in the area and paleoclimates. To locate the best site, a general bathymetric map of the lake and the nature of the bottom surface sediments was conducted. Results of the general reconnaissance are reported in the associated publication including lake depth and lake bottom sediment descriptions. Detailed textural, mineralogical, geochemical and biological investigation of the sediments was conducted.