V. Y. Lipenkov

• Principal Investigator at Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute

The Antarctic bed demonstrates complex behaviour comprising alternating warm- and cold-based areas. However, the distribution of warm- and cold-based areas, basal melting rates, and the structure and age of the basal ice are not yet fully known. In the 2023–2024 season, we drilled an access borehole through 541 m thick ice at Princess Elizabeth Lan...

Since the early 1950s, when extensive exploration of Antarctica began, drilling has become an integral part of many large-scale scientific projects carried out on the sixth continent. Thanks to the rapid development of drilling equipment and technology, numerous scientific discoveries have been made in the fields of paleoclimatology, geology, glaci...

The paper presents a review of the studies carried out in the area of the subglacial Lake Vostok (East Antarctica) to date. They include geophysical, glaciological, geodesic, and geological investigations. The most important geophysical investigations were carried out by the Polar Marine Geosurvey Expedition. They included reflection and refraction...

The deep holes drilled at Vostok Station by the Russian Antarctic Expedition reached the surface of Subglacial Lake Vostok twice — on February 5, 2012 and January 25, 2015. Two unsealings of the largest subglacial water body on Earth, led by Nikolay Vasiliev, have become remarkable events in the history of Antarctic science. To preserve all the twi...

In this paper, we present a new dataset on the stable water isotopic composition (δD and δ18O) in a sequence of subglacial Lake Vostok’s accreted ice (3538–3769 m) measured along three parallel ice cores. The high precision of the new data has allowed us to characterize the formation conditions of different sections of the ice. The whole lake ice i...

Targeted bedrock sampling was carried out on Princess Elizabeth Land (30 km south of the coast, at 69.585591°S; 76.385165° E) by drilling through 545 m thick ice. The borehole was drilled using a new, modified version of the cable-suspended Ice and Bedrock Electromechanical Drill (IBED) designed by the Jilin University (China) and under a joint sci...

Методическое пособие представляет собой наиболее полный и современный обзор всего комплекса методов, с помощью которых выполняются палеоклиматические реконструкции по данным исследований фирновых кернов в условиях Центральной Антарктиды. Детально рассмотрен процесс полевой лабораторной обработки фирновых кернов (измерение плотности и электропроводн...

Seasonal temperature reconstructions from ice cores are missing over glacial–interglacial timescales, preventing a good understanding of the driving factors of Antarctic past climate changes. Here the total air content (TAC) record from the Antarctic EPICA Dome C (EDC) ice core is analyzed over the last 440 ka (thousand years). While the water isot...

In this study, we present a seasonally resolved accumulation record spanning from 1750 to 2009 Common Era (CE), based on a 181.8 m ice core obtained from the Elbrus Western Plateau in the Caucasus. We implemented various methods to account for uncertainties associated with glacier flow, layer thinning, and dating. Additionally, we applied a novel a...

The EPICA (European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica) Dome C (EDC) ice core drilling in East Antarctica reaches a depth of 3260 m. The reference EDC chronology, the AICC2012 (Antarctic Ice Core Chronology 2012), provides an age vs. depth relationship covering the last 800 kyr (thousands of years), with an absolute uncertainty rising up to 8000...

Seasonal temperature reconstructions from ice cores are missing over glacial-interglacial timescales, preventing a good understanding of the driving factors of Antarctic past climate changes. Here the total air content (TAC) record from an Antarctic ice core is analyzed over the last 440 thousand of years (ka). While the water isotopic record, trac...

Received July 28, 2023; revised September 2, 2023; accepted October 2, 2023A study of the isotope signature of glacial ice in the Western Elbrus Plateau (the Caucasus) was made on the basis of five ice cores obtained in different years with high resolution. It was shown that the isotopic characteristics of ice are associated with the processes of a...

We present the surface mass balance (SMB) dataset from Vostok Station's accumulation stake farms which provide the longest instrumental record of its kind obtained with a uniform technique in central Antarctica over the last 53 years. The snow build-up values at individual stakes demonstrate a strong random scatter related to the interaction of win...

In this study, we present a seasonal-resolution accumulation record spanning the period from 1750 to 2009 Common Era (CE), based on a 181.8-m ice core obtained from the Elbrus Western Plateau in the Caucasus. We implemented various methods to account for uncertainties associated with glacier flow, layer thinning, and dating. Additionally, we develo...

The EPICA (European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica) Dome C (EDC) ice core drilling in East Antarctica reaches a depth of 3260 m. The reference EDC chronology (AICC2012) provides an age vs depth relationship covering the last 800 kyr (thousands of years) with an absolute uncertainty rising up to 8,000 years at the bottom of the ice core. The o...

The density of snow and firn thickness is one of the fundamental and most important physical properties of the polar ice sheets. The data on density is used in order to 1) reconstruct the variability of the past snow accumulation rate based on firn core studies, 2) correct the results of instrumental surface mass balance measurements, and 3) verify...

It is generally assumed that the gas composition and the total gas content of Lake Vostok’s water are, to a large extent, governed by the budget of atmospheric gases entering the lake together with glacier ice melt, mostly in its northern part. Since the ice accretion that prevails in the south of the lake leads to the exclusion of gases during the...

The region of Ridge B in central East Antarctica is one of the last unexplored parts of the continent and, at the same time, ranks among the most promising places to search for Earth's oldest ice. In January 2020, we carried out the first scientific traverse from Russia's Vostok Station to the topographical dome of Ridge B (Dome B, 3807 m above sea...

Antarctic paleotemperatures It has been widely thought that East Antarctica was ∼9°C cooler during the Last Glacial Maximum, close to the ∼10°C difference between then and now determined independently for West Antarctica. Buizert et al. used borehole thermometry, firn density reconstructions, and climate modeling to show that the temperature in Eas...

The surface mass balance (SMB) is very low over the vast East Antarctic Plateau, for example in the Vostok region, where the mean SMB is on the order of 20–35 kg m⁻² a⁻¹. The observation and modeling of spatio-temporal SMB variations are equally challenging in this environment. Stake measurements carried out in the Vostok region provide SMB observa...

Recent studies have shown that stratigraphically disturbed meteoric ice bedded at Vostok Station between 3318 and 3539 m dates back to 1.2 Ma BP and possibly beyond. As part of the VOICE (Vostok Oldest Ice Challenge) initiative, a new deviation from parent hole 5G-1 was made at depths of 3270-3291 m in the 2018/19 austral season with the aim of obt...

Central Antarctica is characterized by a crucial lack of information on climate variability during the late Holocene. The study of firn cores obtained from the central part of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is essential for the reconstruction of the paleoclimatic conditions at the continental and regional scales over the past 2,000 years (the Late Ho...

In the 1990s, closed and open porosity volumes of firn samples were measured by J.-M. Barnola using the technique of gas pycnometry, on firn from three different polar sites. They are the basis of a parameterization of closed porosity in polar firn, first introduced in and used in several firn physics models e.g.,. However, these data and their pro...

We measured the methane mixing ratios of enclosed air in five ice core sections drilled on the East Antarctic Plateau. Our work aims to study two effects that alter the recorded gas concentrations in ice cores: layered gas trapping artifacts and firn smoothing. Layered gas trapping artifacts are due to the heterogeneous nature of polar firn, where...

It is shown that the snow stake measurements in central Antarctica systematically underestimate the value of the snow build-up. Two methods for the calculation of the corresponding correction to the snow stake measurements at Vostok station are developed to take this underestimation into account. The first method is based on the Sorge’s law to calc...

Abstract. In the 1990's, closed and open porosity volumes of firn samples have been measured by J.-M. Barnola using the technique of gas pycnometry, on firn from three different polar sites. They are the basis of a parameterization of closed porosity in polar firn, first introduced in Goujon et al. (2003) and used in several firn physics models (e....

We study a firn and ice core drilled at the new “Lock-In” site in East Antarctica, located 136 km away from Concordia station towards Dumont d'Urville. High-resolution chemical and physical measurements were performed on the core, with a particular focus on the trapping zone of the firn where air bubbles are formed. We measured the air content in t...

In this work we have presented new detailed (with the resolution of 10 cm) stable water isotope (δD and δ18O) profile measured in the central Antarctic Vostok ice core section that contains old ice with the age from 0.4 to 1.2 million years. To interpret these data we have developed a model of molecular diffusion in ice and determined the value of...

Ice core data record significant and abrupt past climate changes that are associated with large and rapid changes in atmospheric greenhouse gases, such as methane. Due to the gradual close‐off of gas bubbles and the relatively fast diffusion of gases within the firn column, even a discrete or quick step increase in air composition may be smoothed o...

We measured the methane mixing ratios of enclosed air in five ice core sections drilled on the East Antarctic plateau. Our work aims to study two effects that affect the recorded gas concentrations in ice cores: layered gas trapping artifacts and firn smoothing. Layered gas trapping artifacts are due to the heterogeneous nature of polar firn, where...

The data on snow the temperature which was monitored to a depth of 10 m in the vicinity of Vostok Station by the TAUTO autonomous system in 2010–2017 are presented. By analyzing seasonal temperature variations at different depth with the aid of a heat-transfer model we have inferred a relationship between relative thermal conductivity of snow and i...

We study a firn and ice core drilled at the new "Lock-In" site in East Antarctica, located 136 km away from Concordia station towards Durmont d'Urville. High resolution chemical and physical measurements were performed on the core, with a particular focus on the trapping zone of the firn where air bubbles are formed. We measured the air content in...

The knowledge of the spatial distribution of the snow accumulation rate and isotopic composition in different scales, from local to continental, over the Antarctic Ice Sheet is critically important for the interpretation of the paleoclimate data obtained from deep ice cores, for correct assessment of the ice sheet mass balance, etc. With this in mi...

The results of detailed isotopic studies of ice core samples from the Vostok station (East Antarctica) related to the MIS-11 era (the 11th sea isotope stage, i.e. 370-440 thousand years ago) are presented. Reconstruc- tion of paleoclimatic conditions in this period of time was performed using the method of interpretation of the results of isotopic...

We analyzed helium and neon in 24 samples from between 3,607 and 3,767 m (i.e., down to 2 m above the lake-ice interface) of the accreted ice frozen to the ceiling of Lake Vostok. Within uncertainties, the neon budget of the lake is balanced, the neon supplied to the lake by the melting of glacier ice being compensated by the neon exported by lake...

One of the key priority tasks for the international Antarctic community is drilling and studying old Antarctic ice with age exceeding 1 million years in order to investigate possible reasons for the Mid-Pleistocene Transition. During the 2017-2018 austral season at Vostok Station, we carried out microscopic study of geometrical proper- ties of the...

Isotope ratios of noble gases (He, Ne, Ar) were studied in samples collected by degassing of cores of water frozen over a glacier of Lake Vostok. The gases were collected into glass retorts during three days of degassing of cores, which have just been extracted from the borehole. Within the error, the isotope ³He/⁴He ratios of 0.28 ± 0.08 RA (RA =...

Better assessing the dynamic of stratosphere‐troposphere exchange is a key point to improve our understanding of the climate dynamic in the East Antarctica Plateau, a region where stratospheric inputs are expected to be important. Although tritium (3H or T), a nuclide naturally produced mainly in the stratosphere and rapidly entering the water cycl...

Experimental results for 22 ice cores from Antarctica and Greenland provide insights into principal mechanisms that govern the formation and evolution of air bubble systems in polar ice. A semi-empirical model has been suggested to relate the size and number of bubbles in ice with snow accumulation rate and temperature during ice formation. Air bub...

We investigate for the first time the loss and alteration of past atmospheric information from air trapping mechanisms under low-accumulation conditions through continuous CH4 (and CO) measurements. Methane concentration changes were measured over the Dansgaard–Oeschger event 17 (DO-17, ∼60000yrBP) in the Antarctic Vostok 4G-2 ice core. Measurement...

The main results after the first unlocking into the subglacial Lake Vostok were as follows: the Lake had been opened and not polluted; the water pressure within the lake was not balanced by a column of the drilling liquid that resulted in unplanned rise of water in the borehole up to 340 m. The main problem during the drilling in the lake ice was t...

We investigate for the first time through continuous measurements the loss and alteration of past atmospheric information from air trapping mechanisms under low accumulation conditions. Methane concentration changes were measured over the Dansgaard-Oeschger event 17 (D0-17, ~ 60,000 yrBP) in the Antarctic Vostok 4G-2 ice core. Measurements were per...

Abstract: Drilling fluid (DF) is one of the main sources of chemical and biological contamination of deep ice cores and lake water samples in the exploration of Subgalcial Antarctic Lake Environments (SALE). In this study, we investigated the contamination of an ice core that represented the first samples of refrozen lake water obtained 1 year afte...

A 181.8 m ice core was recovered from a borehole drilled into bedrock on the western plateau of Mt El'brus (43∘20′53.9′′ N, 42∘25′36.0′′ E; 5115 m a.s.l.) in the Caucasus, Russia, in 2009 (Mikhalenko et al., 2015). Here, we report on the results of the water stable isotope composition from this ice core with additional data from the shallow cores....

Work on the project focused on the following five areas: 1) field works in Antarctica at Vostok and Concordia stations; 2) experimental and theoretical studies in the field of ice core and paleoclimate research; 3) experimental and theoretical works related to the exploration of subglacial Lake Vostok; 4) development of technology and drilling equi...

The present-day global climate changes, very likely caused by anthropogenic activity, may potentially present a serious threat to the whole human civilization in a near future. In order to develop a plan of measures aimed at elimination of these threats and adaptation to these undesirable changes, one should deeply understand the mechanism of past...

High-resolution 10Be concentrations in the NGRIP, EDC, EDML and Vostok ice cores and high-resolution dD data in Vostok (5G) during the Laschamp excursion

Using new high-resolution 10Be measurements in the NGRIP, EDML and Vostok ice cores, together with previously published data from EDC, we present an improved synchronization between Greenland and Antarctic ice cores during the Laschamp geomagnetic excursion ∼ 41 kyr ago. We estimate the precision of this synchronization to be ±20 years, an order of...

We use isotopic composition (δD) data from six sites in Princess Elizabeth Land (PEL) in order to reconstruct air temperature variability in this sector of East Antarctica over the last 350 years. First, we use the present-day instrumental mean annual surface air temperature data to demonstrate that the studied region (between Russia's Progress, Vo...

Using new high resolution 10Be measurements in the NGRIP, EDML and Vostok ice cores, together with previously published data from EDC, we present an improved synchronization between Greenland and Antarctic ice cores 20 during the Laschamp geomagnetic excursion ~41 ky ago. We estimate the precision of this synchronization to be ± 20 years, an order...

We use isotopic composition (δD) data from 6 sites in Princess Elisabeth Land (PEL) in order to reconstruct the air temperature variability in this sector of East Antarctica for the last 350 years. First, we use the present-day instrumental mean annual surface air temperature data to demonstrate that the studied region (between Russian research sta...

Nondestructive technology has been developed for the extraction of light gases dissolved in ice. The technology has been tested on samples of atmospheric and congealed ice of the 5-G3 bore hole of the Vostok station (East Antarctica) extracted from depths of 3457–3698 m. Down to 3539 m, ice is of an atmospheric origin, while ice deposited deeper is...

A 181.2 m ice core was recovered from a borehole drilled into bedrock on the western plateau of Mt. Elbrus (43°20’53.9’’ N, 42°25’36.0’’ E; 5115 m a.s.l.) in the Caucasus, Russia, in 2009 (Mikhalenko et al., 2015). Here, we report on the results of the water stable isotope composition from this ice core in comparison with results from shallow ice c...

We present the results of glaciological investigations in the megadune area located 30 km to the east of Vostok Station (central East Antarctica) implemented during the 58th, 59th and 60th Russian Antarctic Expedition (January 2013–2015). Snow accumulation rate and isotope content (δD, δ18O and δ17O) were measured along the 2 km profile across the...

We estimated the stable isotopic composition of water from the subglacial Lake Vostok using two different sets of samples: (1) water frozen on the drill bit immediately after the first lake unsealing and (2) water frozen in the borehole after the unsealing and re-drilled one year later. The most reliable values of the water isotopic composition are...

Deep drilling at the Vostok Station has reached the surface of subglacial Lake Vostok (LV) twice-in February 2012 and January 2015. As a result, three replicate cores from boreholes 5G-1, 5G-2 and 5G-3 became available for detailed and revalidation analyses of the 230 m thickness of the accreted ice, down to its contact with water at 3769 m below t...

The reconstruction of the geological (tectonic) structure and environments of subglacial Lake Vostok is based on geophysical surveys and the study of mineral particles found in cores of accreted ice and frozen lake water (sampled after the lake was unsealed). Seismic reflection and refraction investigations conducted in the southern part of Lake Vo...

We present the results of glaciological investigations in the mega-dune area located 30 km to the east from Vostok Station (central East Antarctica) implemented during the 58th, 59th and 60th Russian Antarctic Expedition (January 2013–January 2015). Snow accumulation rate and isotope content (δD, δ18O and δ17O) were measured along the 2 km profile...

A 182 m ice core was recovered from a borehole drilled into bedrock on the western plateau of Mt. Elbrus (43°20´53.9'' N, 42°25´36.0'' E; 5115 m a.s.l.) in the Caucasus, Russia, in 2009. This is the first ice core in the region that represents a paleoclimate record that is practically undisturbed by seasonal melting. Relatively high snow accumulati...

The temperature and snow accumulation rate anomaly over the past 350 years have been reconstructed based on isotopic composition of shallow ice cores and snow pits samples as well as glaciological observations in pits and at stake farms located in Indian Ocean sector of East Antarctica. The relationship of temporal variability of isotopic compositi...

Marine records indicate a dramatic change in the predominant periodicity of climate variability, from about 40 ka to about 100 ka around one million years ago. The reason for this major climatic shift, which is called the Mid-Pleistocene Transition or MPT, remains unknown – and is of great interest to the climate scientist. Could the core of the ol...

The results of the isotopic investigations of several ice cores obtained at the Western Plateau of Mt. Elbrus (the Caucasus) are presented. There is a distinct seasonal cycle in the isotopic composition record in these cores. Mean annual and seasonal values of the isotopic composition and accumulation rate were reconstructed for 89 years (1924–2012...

Petrographic studies performed on the continuous basis along the two ice cores obtained from holes 5G-1 and 5G-2 at Vostok Station has allowed to characterize with great details the evolution of the ice texture and fabric in the 232-m thick stratum of accreted ice formed from theLakeVostokwater. Conventionally the whole thickness of accreted ice is...

On the 5th of February 2012 the long-lasting project of deep ice drilling at Russian Antarctic station of Vostok was completed by the penetration to the subglacial lake at the depth of 3769.3 m. The study of the ice core representing the frozen lake water and obtained as a result of the drilling, has allowed to make preliminary conclusions on the l...

The results of chemical analyses of snow samples from five pits and cores drilled in the vicinities of Vostok Station, Antarctica, are presented. High resolution (every 2–3 cm, or about three samples per year) ion measurements allowed to compile a new detailed record of volcanic events for the past 900 years. About 30 low latitude volcanic eruption...

Antarctic subglacial lakes can represent extreme natural habitats for microorganisms from the position of their evolution and adaptation, as well as they can contain the information on Antarctic ice sheet history and climatic changes in their sediments. Now only direct measurements and sampling from these habitats can answer on many fundamental que...

The paper presents data on chemical composition of snow in theAntarcticasampled along the first tractor traverse during the 53th Russian Antarctic Expedition from Station Progress (the sea coast) to Station Vostok (1,276 kmfrom Progress). Specific features of horizontal and depth distribution of chemical components in snow revealed differences in c...

Temperature gradients in the upper layers of the snow pack are of importance for studying the emissivity properties of the snow surface with respect to microwaves used in remote sensing as well as for the heat and mass transfer in snow thickness. Gradients drive the initial snow microstructure metamorphisms that probably influence the firn properti...

We present here a brief description of the drilling operations in the deep 5G hole at the Russian Vostok Station with more detailed account of the final stage of this long-term project successfully ended on February 5, 2012 with the first Lake Vostok unsealing. Relevant information on the borehole design and the technical characteristics of the dow...

An important share of paleoclimatic information is buried within the lowermost layers of deep ice cores. Because improving our records further back in time is one of the main challenges in the near future, it is essential to judge how deep these records remain unaltered, since the proximity of the bedrock is likely to interfere both with the record...

A 182 m ice core has been recovered from a borehole drilled through the glacier to the bedrock at the Western Plateau of Mt Elbrus (43°20′53.9″ N, 42°25′36.0″ E; 5115 m a.s.l.), the Caucasus, Russia, in 2009. This is the first ice core in the region which represents a paleoclimate record practically undisturbed by seasonal melting. Relatively high...

In November 2010 a new research unit was inaugurated in Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (St. Petersburg) – Climate and Environmental Research Laboratory (CERL) – that became the first lab in Russia dedicated to the complex studies of ice cores, paleoclimate and subglacial environments in Antarctica. The total investments to construct the la...

Between the close-off depth and the bubble-to-hydrate transition zone in polar ice sheets, the geometrical properties of air bubbles, such as number concentration and size of bubbles, are mainly controlled by firn temperature and ice accumulation rate prevailing during the snow to ice transformation [3], and by the bubble compression in the course...

An important share of paleoclimatic information is buried within the lowermost layers of deep ice cores. Because improving our records further back in time is one of the main challenges in the near future, it is essential to judge how deep these records remain unaltered, since the proximity of the bedrock is likely to interfere both with the record...

This paper documents the drilling of the 5G deep hole at the Russian Vostok station, Antarctica. The hole construction is described and the specifications of the drill and surface drilling equipment are given. The peculiarities of drilling at various depths are considered. Based on the extensive experimental data collected at Vostok station, the pr...

Height changes of the ice surface above subglacial Lake Vostok, East Antarctica, reflect the integral effect of different processes within the subglacial environment and the ice sheet. Repeated GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) observations on 56 surface markers in the Lake Vostok region spanning eleven years and continuous GNSS observatio...

Antarctic and Southern Ocean science is vital to understanding natural variability, the processes that govern global change and the role of humans in the Earth and climate system. The potential for new knowledge to be gained from future Antarctic science is substantial. Therefore, the international Antarctic community came together to ‘scan the hor...

Mahlon C. Kennicutt II, Steven L. Chown and colleagues outline the most pressing questions in southern polar research, and call for greater collaboration and environmental protection in the region.

Based on the results of geochemical and glaciological investigations in snow pits and shallow cores, regional stack series of air temperature in central Antarctica (in the southern part of Vostok Subglacial Lake) were obtained, covering the last 350 years. It is shown that this parameter varied quasi-periodically with a wavelength of 30–50 years. T...