McGill University
Developing New Technologies to Access and Investigate the Hypersaline, Subzero Devon Island Subglacial Lake System, a Unique Mars and Icy Moon Analogue — Astrobiology and the search for life in our solar system is a major focus of planetary exploration. In the coming decades, astrobiology investigations will be primarily focused on Mars, Europa and Enceladus which are characterized by extremely cold temperatures. In this context, the Devon Island Subglacial Lake complex, discovered in 2018 and lying ~600 m under the Devon Ice Cap in the Canadian Arctic, represents the first hypersaline subglacial lake complex discovered on Earth with estimated temperatures of ~-12°C and a salinity of ~14% (4.5 times greater than the oceans). These conditions make this subglacial waterbody one of Earth’s most extreme environments and it is the closest known analogue to the extraterrestrial habitats hypothesized to exist on Mars (subsurface lakes, residual slope linea), Europa (subsurface ocean), and Enceladus. 

This project will be the first phase of a program that is ultimately planned to access and sample the Devon Island Subglacial lakes, which will 