We Finally Reached That 20 Million Year Old Lake Beneath Antarctica

After 20 years of drilling, Russian scientists have finally punched a hole in the bottom of the planet to reach the ancient lake 13,000 feet beneath Antarctica. So what now?

The scientists had been radio-silent for about a week, which prompted some concern, but is generally the price of doing business in Antarctica. More pressing was the concern that the frigid Antarctic winter would move in and postpone the breach until next drilling season, which only lasts a couple months most times.

Now that drilling has reached the lake, enough of the kerosene that keeps the two and a half mile hole from freezing has been extracted for the water to naturally rise a bit up the hole. That water will then be left to freeze over the winter, and extracted when scientists return next season. This ice plug method will allow scientists to analyze Vostok's water without risking contaminating the lake.

Reaching the undisturbed lake after millions of years won't just show scientists how life might have looked millions of years ago, or presently under different conditions, but how life might plausibly exist on distant planets and moons. Moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and possibly Mars itself, are thought to conceal similar lakes beneath their icy surfaces.

That's probably where the ancients stored all their biological hazardous materials.

lol......there is speculation that by drilling there we could potentially release some sort of bio-hazard. Who knows?

Fascinating.
Thanks :-)

Cool.

I'm interested to find out what life forms are down there.

With the Earth being 'cyclical' Antartica must have at one time hosted no ice.

I wonder what cities sit on the shores of that lake, just waiting to be discovered.