title: A preliminary comparison of two perennially ice-covered lakes in Antarctica:  analogs of past Martian lacustrine environments.
abstract: Perennially ice-covered lakes in the Antarctic have been suggested as analogs to lakes which may have existed on the surface of Mars 3.5 billion years ago.  During the 1991-1992 austral summer, a joint Russian/American research effort was directed at studies of ice-covered lakes in the Bunger Hills Oasis, Antarctica (66 degrees S, 100 degrees E).  The primary objective of the expedition was to investigate this ice-free area for features analogous to ancient martian environments that may have been capable of supporting life and to compare the ice-covered lakes of the Bunger Hills with those in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of southern Victoria Land (77 degrees S, 166 degrees E) as part of the continuing studies of Antarctic-Mars analogs.
authors.affiliation: SETI Institute, Mt. View, CA 94034, USA.
authors.forename: D T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Doran
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bolshiyanov
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rice
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Galchenko
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cherych
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Wharton
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: McKay
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Garshnek
mesh_terms: D000864:Antarctic Regions; D019418:Evolution, Chemical; D018559:Exobiology; D005618:Fresh Water; D007053:Ice; D018535:Mars; D010100:Oxygen; D013696:Temperature; D014867:Water; D014871:Water Microbiology
chemical_list: D007053:Ice; D014867:Water; D010100:Oxygen