Russian Team Prepares To Penetrate Lake Vostok

Lanxon writes "Lake Vostok, which has been sealed off from the world for 14 million years, is about to be penetrated by a Russian drill bit. The lake, which lies four kilometers below the icy surface of Antarctica, is unique in that it's been completely isolated from the other 150 subglacial lakes on the continent for such a long time. It's also oligotropic, meaning that it's supersaturated with oxygen — levels of the element are 50 times higher than those found in most typical freshwater lakes."

Comments

We know how this is going to end

[GodfatherofSoul]

They'll dig up a strange UFO with some doppleganger virus that causes the whole crew to kill each other.

In Soviet....

[tverbeek]

In Soviet Antarctica, buried lake penetrates drill hole!

Seriously. RTFA.

Re:Look Up

[Anonymous Coward]

Is that a trick question?

Re:Anybody else feel like this is a bad idea?

[bluefoxlucid]

To be fair, theory and practice are in theory identical; in practice, not so much.

coming soon : "Elder God Park"

[Thud457]

That's how these things always start out.

Oh yeah "Ooh, aah", that's how it always starts. But then there's running and screaming.

It was clearly spelled out in the transmission from the pyramid. What part of "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn" didn't you understand?

Let's go straight to profit, shall we?

[gklinger]

This will inevitably lead to a new brand of vodka advertised as being made with "14 million year old, subglacial, super-oxygenated water".

Re:Seriously, Nobody Read the Article?

[MattMattMatt]

Read the article? You must be new here. :)

He's an extremophile.

Re:You think your working conditions are bad...

[Shompol]

When it is -30C, Russians take their towels and beach umbrellas, drill a hole in the ice and go swimming.
When it becomes -65C they cannot find any water in liquid state, so someone came up with this bright idea to drill a hole to an ancient lake, just so they can have a pool in winter.

Re:Wonder what else is down there?

[LearnToSpell]

Gondwanaland's Law. This discussion's over.

Re:Look Up

[mswhippingboy]

Would it be impolite to point out that she has accomplished far more in life than you or I have, or probably ever will? If Sarah Palin is dumb, therefore, there's a significantly greater than zero chance that you and I are even dumber.

That is based on the ridiculous notion that intelligence equates to fame. To make this point, I only have two words - "Jersey Shore".