Nam Co, or ‘Heavenly Lake’ in Mongolian, offers beautiful but challenging conditions in which to mount a research expedition. Scientists will work together with local residents during the drilling to ensure that the environment remains protected. Photo credit: Torsten Haberzettl.

To find the answers, scientists will look to the past. The international research team includes Natasha Barbolini from the Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences and the Bolin Centre for Climate Research at Stockholm University. They have recently been granted US $ 1.5 million from the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program to drill one of the largest and deepest lakes on the Tibetan Plateau. Together with the Himalaya-Hindu Kush mountain range, this area stores the largest amount of snow and ice after the Arctic and Antarctic – and is thus called the world’s “Third Pole”.

This is an edited extract. Read the full article on Dept. of Ecology, Environment and Plant Science’s website