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About
the High Lakes Expedition
The
High Lakes Expedition is taking place between October
20th and November 24th, 2005.
Exploring Life at the Extreme
In the past three years (2002-2004), first with a NASA
ARC DDF grant and now with a NAI grant, our project
team has explored Licancabur, one of the highest lakes
in the world (6,014 m), Laguna Blanca, Laguna Verde,
Thermales (4,340 m) in Bolivia and performed a series
of reconnaissances in Laguna Colorada to the North.
Key astrobiological information about their physical
and biological environment was retrieved. In 2005, our
team will move on to explore a new volcanic lake of
the Altiplano named Poquentica located ~700 km north
of Licancabur in the Bolivian Andes. Like Licancabur,
Poquentica makes the border between Chile and Bolivia.
The ascent will take place on the Bolivian side for
acclimatization and logistical purposes. However, the
outstanding findings at the Licancabur summit lake in
2004 call for more investigation of the remarkable underwater
ecosystem found at the center of the lake. The 2005
expedition, therefore, will include two main ascents:
The first on Licancabur for a diving expedition, and
the second on Poquentica. In addition to the two high-altitude
ascents, the team will accomplish a unique (and spectacular
by its scenery) astrobiological trek over 700 km of
the Andean Altiplano, traversing and sampling a dozen
shallow lakes and salars between the two volcanoes and
collecting an unprecedented archive of astrobiological
information about high-altitude extreme habitats, UV
impact on life, characterizing microbial life along
the transect. While the main expedition is exploring
the Altiplano, associate members of the project team
will also perform a reconnaissance in Chile on Accamarachi,
Aquas Calientes, and Chiliques, three other high volcanoes
that will be explored in the coming years. They all
have summit lakes and the highest is located at ~5,950
m elevation.
Profile of the Expedition
Previous
Expeditions
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