Lake El'gygytgyn - the White Lake as the Chukotka people call it - is located at the farthest corner of NorthEast Siberia, approx. 900 km west of Bering Street separating the Asian continent from Alaska.
Formed through meteoric impact some 3.6 m years ago, it is a unique climatic archive within the Arctic which provides information about why and how a massive climatic cooling down occurred some 2.6 m years ago. Lake Elgygytgyn's sediments illustrate glacial/interglacial variations thereafter and their possible consequences on global climate.
For over 10 years now, international scientists of various faculties have been researching the site. Now they can answer the most important questions based on the lake sediments recovered within a spectacular drilling campaign in autumn 2008 and winter/spring 2009 revealing the climate and environmental history of the Arctic - and can reconstruct the formation of the lake.