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Lake Vostok
Lake Vostok - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The lake was drilled into by Russian scientists in 2012. The overlying ice provides a continuous paleoclimatic record of 400,000 years, although the lake water itself may have been isolated for 15 [7][8] to 25 million years.[9] On 5 February 2012, a team of Russian scientists claimed to have completed the longest ever ice core of 3,768 m (12,400 ft) and pierced the ice shield to the surface of the lake.[10] As soon as the ice was pierced, water from the underlying lake gushed up the borehole.[11]

The first core of freshly frozen lake ice was obtained on 10 January 2013 at a depth of 3,406 m (11,175 ft),[12] and it is yet to be analyzed.[13] The Russian team plans to lower a probe into the lake to collect water samples and sediments from the bottom. It is hypothesized that unusual forms of life could be found in the lake's liquid layer, a fossil water reserve. Lake Vostok contains an environment sealed off below the ice for millions of years, in conditions which could resemble those of the hypothesized ice-covered ocean of Jupiter's moon Europa.[14][15]

Michael Studinger's Homepage on Subglacial Lakes and Lake Vostok


Russian Antarctica Team Poised to Reach the 14-Million Year Old Waters of Lake Vostok -a Prehistoric Laboratory




Category: Lake Vostok | Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT

No, nothing here about German submarines and cloning Hitler...........................

It says here that the drill team, which made haste to leave the project till next year's summer, allowed some of the lake water to rise into the drill string a short distance, got evidence it froze, and will let next year's crew retrieve some for analysis. Seems entirely sensible. No fear, one gathers, that when they get back then will find that the whole lake has geysered back up the pipe, lacquered the landscape in fresh ice suffused with tiny, dead, alien-looking beasties, and generally written fiasco on the whole deal. But wouldn't that be a story? - See more at: http://ksj.mit.edu/tracker/2012/02/update-ap-etc-its-official-russians-dril#sthash.8WAR9GlL.dpuf

http://www.antartidaurbana.com/naturaleza/lago-vostok/?lang=en

Lake Vostok is one of the mysteries of Antarctica. It is an enormous lake, more than 250 km. long and50 km. wide, buried 3.748 meters deep under an immense layer of ice. It’s water is one of the most awaited samples by scientists who work in the continent..................

Lake Vostok’s drilling is one of the biggest achievements of science in the last years. It is the result of almost 20 years of work and a titanic fight against weather conditions and the adversities of the most inhospitable continent on Earth.