Guidelines to Avoid Biocontamination of Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments: Forward Contamination Concerns, Environmental Management and Scientific Stewardship of Icy analogue environments

Details Guidelines to Avoid Biocontamination of Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments: Forward Contamination Concerns, Environmental Management and Scientific Stewardship of Icy analogue environments Guidelines to Avoid Biocontamination of Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments: Forward Contamination Concerns, Environmental Management and Scientific Stewardship of Icy analogue environments

Dec 2007

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007agufm.p52a..07r&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2007, abstract #P52A-07

Computer Science

Sound

0456 Life In Extreme Environments, 4932 Ice Cores (0724), 6020 Ices, 6221 Europa, 6324 Legislation And Regulations (6615)

Scientific paper

For more than a decade, scientists and space mission planners have recognized the importance of collaborative information exchange with the Antarctic research community to address their many shared exploration challenges, from drilling methods, remote sample collection, and data interpretation, to concerns about cross contamination that could adversely impact both the environment and interpretation of scientific data. Another shared concern exists in the regulatory realm; both the Antarctic and outer space environments are subject to separate international treaties that impose regulatory controls and oversight with serious implications for exploration planning. In recent years, both communities have faced the need to adjust their regulatory controls in light of fast-paced advances in scientific understanding of extreme environments, particularly related to potential microbial life. Both communities have sought and received advice from the National Research Council (NRC) through studies that suggested ways to update their respective oversight and regulatory systems while allowing for continued scientific exploration. A recently completed NRC study "Exploration of Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments: Environmental and Scientific Stewardship" provided a suite of recommendations to address1) 'cleanliness' levels necessary for equipment and devices used in exploration of subglacial aquatic environments, as well as 2) the scientific basis for contamination standards, and 3) the steps for defining an overall exploration strategy conducive to sound environmental management and scientific stewardship. This talk will present the findings of the recent multinational NRC study, which is likely to translate into useful information for analogue studies that proceed to test techniques and capabilities for exploring an Europan ocean, other icy celestial locations, and related science targets on Earth. As the science and exploration of subglacial environments grows beyond its infancy, the initial methodologies and protocols will undoubtedly continue to need further development and regular revision - making continued collaboration and communication between the polar and space communities mutually beneficial and advisable. NRC Study Committee members: 1 John E. Hobbie (Chair), Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts; 2 Amy Baker, Technical Administrative Services, Littleton, Colorado; 3 Garry Clarke, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; 4 Peter T. Doran, University of Illinois at Chicago, Earth and Environmental Sciences; 5 David Karl, University of Hawaii at Manoa, School of Ocean and Earth Science, Honolulu; 6 Barbara Methé, The Institute for Genomic Research, Rockville, Maryland; 7 Heinz Miller, Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Germany; 8 Samuel B. Mukasa, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; 9 Margaret Race, SETI Institute, Mountain View, California; 10 Warwick Vincent, Département de Biologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada; 11 David Walton, British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, United Kingdom; 12 James White, University of Colorado, Boulder, 13 Maria Uhle (Study Director), National Research Council.

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