Lake Vostok Reached

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Posted by samzenpus on Monday February 6, 2012 @02:32AM from the say-hello-to-the-elder-things dept.

First time accepted submitter Cyberax writes "After 30 years of drilling and weeks of media attention the Antarctic underground lake Vostok has been reached by Russian scientists (translated article). Deep drilling in the vicinity of Vostok Station in Antarctica began in the 1970s, when the existence of the reservoir was not yet known. Scientists are beginning paleoclimatic studies and further exploration of the lake will continue in 2013-2014."

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We all know what will happen by Trilkk · 2012-02-06 02:35 · Score: 5, Funny

Expecting a lone husky to be seen escaping the facility in 2 days time.
1. Re:We all know what will happen by Dave+Whiteside · 2012-02-06 02:41 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  except we're more like to infect and kill anything down there :(
  
  --
  who where what when now?
2. Re:We all know what will happen by Heed00 · 2012-02-06 02:43 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  "I know you gentlemen have been through a lot. But when you find the time...I'd rather not spend the rest of the winter TIED TO THIS FUCKING COUCH!!"
  
  --
  Thought thinks itself.
3. Re:We all know what will happen by IceNinjaNine · 2012-02-06 02:44 · Score: 1
  
  Oh, I thought they'd finally found another source of the voices from hell.
4. Re:We all know what will happen by ledow · 2012-02-06 03:02 · Score: 2
  
  Or we could just teach the Norwegians to shoot straight, and maybe take some helicopter flying lessons.
5. Re:We all know what will happen by MrHanky · 2012-02-06 03:10 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  You'd need to sober them up first. Good luck with that.
6. Re:We all know what will happen by Moheeheeko · 2012-02-06 03:12 · Score: 1
  
  rt imitates life? http://carbon-based-ghg.blogspot.com/2012/02/silence-shrouds-antarctic-dig.html
7. Re:We all know what will happen by Moheeheeko · 2012-02-06 03:14 · Score: 1
  
  nevermind, TFA is newer than the one I found.
8. Re:We all know what will happen by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 03:22 · Score: 0
  
  I'd rather deal with a lone husky instead of lava slimes and fire imps!
9. Re:We all know what will happen by Captain+Hook · 2012-02-06 03:42 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Or we could just teach the Norwegians to shoot straight, and maybe take some helicopter flying lessons.
  Bullets would have had no effect anyway. It was a lifeform based on completely separate cells which work together and could be assigned to any role needed.
  
  Bullets would have torn a hole in the macro shape, maybe killed a few hundred cells at the impact point, but the remaining cells would have just knitted the hole back together. The only effect bullets would have had on what was shaped like a dog would have been the momentum of the bullet causing the dog to get knocked around.
  
  It's why they had to resort to fire because you needed to kill the each cell individually. Poison might have worked as well.
  
  --
  These comments are my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the other voices in my head.
10. Re:We all know what will happen by Sulphur · 2012-02-06 04:27 · Score: 1
  
  You'd need to sober them up first. Good luck with that.
  They are waiting for global warming you insensitive clod.
11. Re:We all know what will happen by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 04:44 · Score: 0
  
  Or teach the "Norwegians" to speak norwegian. The man who suposedly is speaking norwegian is clearly not Norwegian.
12. Re:We all know what will happen by f0nZi3 · 2012-02-06 05:03 · Score: 1
  
  Love it! But with a Helicopter chasing after it and the passenger shooting a high-powered rifle at it. bomp-bomp (tick, tick, tick) bomp-bomp (tick, tick, tick) bomp-bomp ;-)
13. Re:We all know what will happen by Opportunist · 2012-02-06 05:11 · Score: 1
  
  There's just two things you can sensibly do up there in the Winter: Drink and code.
  And not everyone's cut out to be a programmer.
  
  --
  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
14. Re:We all know what will happen by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 05:17 · Score: 0
  
  Husky? Nah, a penguin. Now, that would actually be funny.
15. Re:We all know what will happen by MrHanky · 2012-02-06 05:18 · Score: 2
  
  Spoken like a true programmer. Evidently you've never had drunken sex.
16. Re:We all know what will happen by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 05:21 · Score: 0
  
  You do realize that February is the middle of the summer in Antarctica ?
17. Re:We all know what will happen by semi-extrinsic · 2012-02-06 05:22 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  I'm assuming you are referring to Ulrich Thomsen? There is one scene where he is speaking danish rather than norwegian, but we Scandinavians tend to understand each other pretty well, so this is not a goof per se. It might very well happen in real life as well that a Danish person speaks danish to a Norwegian; in fact it happened to me less than two weeks ago, and I had no problem understanding her. The rest of the Norwegians are well-known Norwegian actors, who speak norwegian correctly.
  
  --
  for i in `facebook friends "=bday" 2>/dev/null | cut -d " " -f 3-`; do facebook wallpost $i "Happy birthday!"; done
18. Re:We all know what will happen by Sockatume · 2012-02-06 05:25 · Score: 1, Interesting
  
  You have clearly never watched one of the finest movies ever made.
  
  --
  No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
19. Re:We all know what will happen by SteveFoerster · 2012-02-06 05:47 · Score: 0
  
  As a disinterested observer, I'd say you win.
  
  --
  Space game using normal deck of cards: http://BattleCards.org
20. Re:We all know what will happen by Xaoswolf · 2012-02-06 05:48 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I'm waiting for the albino penguins and shoggoths myself...
  
  --
  Xaotik Designs
21. Re:We all know what will happen by ColdWetDog · 2012-02-06 05:52 · Score: 1
  
  I think we just broke Netflix. Hadn't seen that movie in ages, so I tried to put it in my queue - "An Error Occurred".
  Either that or....
  Shit. Maybe the Russians....
  
  --
  Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
22. Re:We all know what will happen by ScytheLegion · 2012-02-06 05:56 · Score: 1
  
  Best use of a movie quote in a long time! Didn't connect the reference until the CAPS
23. Re:We all know what will happen by Beardo+the+Bearded · 2012-02-06 06:12 · Score: 1
  
  Maybe I haven't, but since you figured that I knew the title just magically then I guess I won't know if I've seen it or not.
  
  --
  
  ---
  ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
24. Re:We all know what will happen by chill · 2012-02-06 06:25 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  The 1982 classic John Carpenter movie The Thing.
  
  --
  Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
25. Re:We all know what will happen by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 06:47 · Score: 0
  
  You could have put the quote in google and got the answer but instead you decided to spend the time whining... so, yeah, I guess you won't.
26. Re:We all know what will happen by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 09:17 · Score: 0
  
  You have clearly never watched one of the finest movies ever made.
  Or the remake.
27. Re:We all know what will happen by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 10:20 · Score: 0
  
  for programmers, does drunken masturbation count?
28. Re:We all know what will happen by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 10:30 · Score: 0
  
  I say we take off and nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
29. Re:We all know what will happen by gmhowell · 2012-02-06 13:00 · Score: 2
  
  It's a movie about some... thing... Can't recall the title.
  
  --
  Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
30. Re:We all know what will happen by gmhowell · 2012-02-06 13:02 · Score: 1
  
  It would have likely slowed it down for a moment or two as it reconfigured itself. That might have given the people in the US base just enough of a glimpse to not bring the thing into their camp.
  
  --
  Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
31. Re:We all know what will happen by bryan1945 · 2012-02-06 16:43 · Score: 1
  
  Is it going to be the cool 80s dog or the new and *cough* improved *cough* CGI dog? CGI dog, I'm just pulling its hard drive.
  
  --
  Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
32. Re:We all know what will happen by Opportunist · 2012-02-06 19:08 · Score: 1
  
  Umm.... does drunken programming count?
  
  --
  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
33. Re:We all know what will happen by cyclomedia · 2012-02-06 23:57 · Score: 1
  
  unless it has the consistency of some kind of marshmallow dessert http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090094/
  
  --
  If you don't risk failure you don't risk success.
34. Re:We all know what will happen by tehcyder · 2012-02-07 01:11 · Score: 1
  
  Maybe I haven't, but since you figured that I knew the title just magically then I guess I won't know if I've seen it or not.
  Come on, how difficult is it to paste what is obviously a quotation into Google and see what comes up?
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
35. Re:We all know what will happen by tehcyder · 2012-02-07 01:21 · Score: 0
  
  There's just two things you can sensibly do up there in the Winter: Drink and code.
  And not everyone's cut out to be a programmer.
  How can the Antarctic be "up there2?
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
36. Re:We all know what will happen by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-07 02:05 · Score: 0
  
  They mostly come out at night. Mostly.
37. Re:We all know what will happen by RivenAleem · 2012-02-07 03:54 · Score: 1
  
  How can you call a movie from 1982 a classic? That's only 30 years ago.
  Get off my lawn!
38. Re:We all know what will happen by mcgrew · 2012-02-07 06:56 · Score: 1
  
  Lame. When I was a kid, Gone With The Wind and The Wizard of Oz were considered classics, and they were only 20 years old. Hell, thirty years before I was born talkies were brand new.
  You're making us geezers look bad, grandpa. Stop it, or I shall stomp on your grass!
  
  --
  Free Martian Whores!
39. Re:We all know what will happen by yourdeadin · 2012-02-07 18:54 · Score: 0
  
  I thought that we were drilling for Oil.... Stupid Russians, Wasting all this time and money for pure water.
40. Re:We all know what will happen by RockDoctor · 2012-02-07 21:23 · Score: 1
  
  How can you call a movie from 1982 a classic? That's only 30 years ago.
  "Classic" refers to the quality of a movie, not it's age. For example, though I was under-impressed with it, I recognised that "Star Wars" was probably a classic movie within minutes of seeing it 30-odd years ago (35?). I gather that it's been popular since, and there are even rumours of a sequel in the works.
  
  Get off my lawn!
  Is that a reference to a classic movie from around 10 years ago? I believe that it is rumoured to have starred Clinty-poos, though I'm not entirely sure as I haven't seen it. "Gross Tourist-o", or something like that?
  
  --
  Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
By extraordinary coincidence... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2012-02-06 02:35 · Score: 5, Insightful

It turns out that the microbiological conditions of ancient lake Vostok are strikingly similar to those of early 21st century drilling mud.

The timeline altering implications of this discovery will keep scientists busy for decades!
1. Re:By extraordinary coincidence... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 02:48 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  As far as I know they have gone to extreme lengths to avoid contamination of the water. I know they stopped just before reaching the water to let the hole freeze behind them for one thing.
2. Re:By extraordinary coincidence... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 02:51 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  How is that extreme? Did they fill the hole with Mountain Dew?
3. Re:By extraordinary coincidence... by argStyopa · 2012-02-06 03:01 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Was there ever any compromise on their drilling procedure?
  My understanding was that the Russians were using a method that was likely to cause contamination, despite pleas by western agencies for them to either a) hold off until better tech was developed or b) funding was established to allow them to use (donated) already-developed tech from the west that would be less contaminating?
  I'd guess since this is happening roughly according to their original schedule, the answer is "no" which would be tragic.
  
  --
  -Styopa
4. Re:By extraordinary coincidence... by Cyberax · 2012-02-06 03:09 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Nope. The lake had almost been reached in 1998 but drilling was stopped to ensure that there would be no contamination. Several years were spent to devise a good solution for the problem of contamination. So the drilling has been resumed only in 2005 when the international community decided that it's safe enough.
  They're using a well filled with kerosene and freon to keep bacterial contamination away. Also, they're using sterilized parts without grease to minimize places where bacteria could hide.
5. Re:By extraordinary coincidence... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 03:11 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Was there ever any compromise on their drilling procedure?
  My understanding was that the Russians were using a method that was likely to cause contamination, despite pleas by western agencies for them to either a) hold off until better tech was developed or b) funding was established to allow them to use (donated) already-developed tech from the west that would be less contaminating?
  I'd guess since this is happening roughly according to their original schedule, the answer is "no" which would be tragic.
  According to the Google translation of the article the drilling was put on hold while the technology was developed at the St. Petersburg Institute. Western nations approved the Russian proposals after that at a 2003 meeting.
  So to answer you, the answer is "yes" which is not tragic.
6. Re:By extraordinary coincidence... by AverageWindowsUser · 2012-02-06 03:25 · Score: 1
  
  So we're talking about compromises and holes in the ground. Do compromises happen first, then holes are made in the ground? Help me out here.
7. Re:By extraordinary coincidence... by ColdWetDog · 2012-02-06 05:59 · Score: 1
  
  They're using a well filled with kerosene and freon to keep bacterial contamination away. Also, they're using sterilized parts without grease to minimize places where bacteria could hide.
  OK, so some diesel fuel and refrigerant is supposed to stop some million year old monster?
  Don't those people have script writers?
  
  --
  Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
8. Re:By extraordinary coincidence... by wiedzmin · 2012-02-06 06:15 · Score: 1
  
  RTFA, they stopped the drilling for a dozen years, with 130 meters left, just to develop technologies to prevent such contamination.
  
  --
  Bow before me, for I am root.
9. Re:By extraordinary coincidence... by wiedzmin · 2012-02-06 06:17 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  I'm not worried, Bruce Willis will save us.
  
  --
  Bow before me, for I am root.
10. Re:By extraordinary coincidence... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 07:02 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Umm... you may want to read the controversies about this on Wikipedia's page on Lake Vostok.
  Everyone's been screaming at the Russians that they're contaminating everything by using freon and kerosene in the borehole to keep it from freezing over again. 60 tons of that crap has been dumped into that borehole. TONS. They have literally filled the bore-hole with kerosene.
  The Russians' defense is that when they break through, water will rush up, re-freeze, and plug the borehole to avoid any contaminants getting in. How it doesn't leech through the ice I don't understand. Ok, maybe freon and kerosene have particles that are larger than the gaps in crystaline structure ice and are incapable of melting it on their own... I have no idea. But I also don't understand how they plan to get a water sample... or any sample from in there, if they're expecting water to rush up and plug the hole Would they not have to literally bore through that re-freezing, shove their gathering tubes through the opening, into the water, in order to extract said water or a bottom-surface sample if they want that?
  One way or the other, I'd need to hear a damn clear explanation as to how all those chemicals will never manage to get to the water inside.
11. Re:By extraordinary coincidence... by Lashat · 2012-02-06 07:04 · Score: 1
  
  Contamination of the water has been a concern and apparently according to TFA it has been addressed.
  "Scientific research drilling in the area started in 1989 and the lake's existence was confirmed in 1996. But efforts to reach its surface were suspended two years later amid fears that the process could contaminate the waters.
  After developing new techniques in an attempt to ease environmental concerns, attempts to drill down through the deep ice sheet to the lake's surface resumed."
  
  --
  For every benefit you receive a tax is levied. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
12. Re:By extraordinary coincidence... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 08:13 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  a) the method was tested and shown to not contaminate the water, that's why drilling was allowed to proceed
  b) they'll probably extract kerns of ice after freezing.
  Russian news site says:
  
  The lake might be absolutely sterile. At this moment, drilling passed 173 meters through the ice formed from the lake water. But examining lake kerns has shown no more than 2-3 cells per milliliter, and even those cells could have gotten into samples while transported or in the lab
13. Re:By extraordinary coincidence... by theshowmecanuck · 2012-02-06 10:36 · Score: 0
  
  If any of the scientists were around in the Soviet era, then I'm expecting the lake to be polluted with nuclear waste within two weeks.
  
  --
  -- I ignore anonymous replies to my comments and postings.
14. Re:By extraordinary coincidence... by sl149q · 2012-02-06 17:11 · Score: 1
  
  From wikipedia:
  Measuring 250 km (160 mi) long by 50 km (30 mi) wide at its widest point, and covering an area of 15,690 km2 (6,060 sq mi), it is similar in area to Lake Ontario, but with over three times the volume. The average depth is 344 m (1,129 ft). It has an estimated volume of 5,400 km3 (1,300 cu mi).[4] The lake is divided into two deep basins by a ridge. The liquid water over the ridge is about 200 m (700 ft), compared to roughly 400 m (1,300 ft) deep in the northern basin and 800 m (2,600 ft) deep in the southern.
  So we are talking literally TONS of contamination in 5400 cubic kilometers of H2O. Do the math. This is not going to be the oil spill from hell.
15. Re:By extraordinary coincidence... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-07 05:26 · Score: 0
  
  I'm not worried, Mark Wahlberg will save us.
I am not sure the yeti will like that :) by youn · 2012-02-06 02:35 · Score: 1

or whatever monster is lurking down there... well at least according to the movies I have seen :p

--
Never antropomorphize computers, they do not like that :p
1. Re:I am not sure the yeti will like that :) by elrous0 · 2012-02-06 02:40 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  There was an episode of Northern Exposure where they tapped an ancient glacial lake and found that the water made women extremely horny. So there could be an upside here.
  
  --
  SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
2. Re:I am not sure the yeti will like that :) by localman57 · 2012-02-06 02:43 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Huh. I can see the "I Tapped That at Vostok" T-Shirts and Bumper Stickers now...
3. Re:I am not sure the yeti will like that :) by Abreu · 2012-02-06 02:54 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  "In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming..."
  Until some pesky humans drill into his cool jacuzzi...
  
  --
  No sig for the moment.
4. Re:I am not sure the yeti will like that :) by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 03:03 · Score: 0
  
  That is not dead which can eternal lie.
  And with strange aeons even death may die.
  We are doomed. Refreshed, by those crisp, clean, cool, sparkling, mineral waters. But very, very doomed.
5. Re:I am not sure the yeti will like that :) by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 03:52 · Score: 0
  
  Don't worry Cthulhu doesn't hang out in Antarctica (doesn't like the neiborhood). Though I hear the Elder Things can last a pretty long time on ice...
6. Re:I am not sure the yeti will like that :) by bytesex · 2012-02-06 06:35 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah I have movies that start like that.
  
  --
  Religion is what happens when nature strikes and groupthink goes wrong.
7. Re:I am not sure the yeti will like that :) by tehcyder · 2012-02-07 01:32 · Score: 1
  
  There was an episode of Northern Exposure where they tapped an ancient glacial lake and found that the water made women extremely horny. So there could be an upside here.
  Horny != totally indiscrinate, so I don't know if it will help many people here...
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
8. Re:I am not sure the yeti will like that :) by Deus.1.01 · 2012-02-07 02:27 · Score: 1
  
  "Wait this Isn't water, its some biological goo which seems to be mo*radio static*"
  
  --
  My -1 Troll is actually a +1 funny. And my -1 flame is actually a +1 insightfull.
Now, the Predators come by newsman220 · 2012-02-06 02:37 · Score: 2

According to the Daily Mail (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2095193/Lake-Vostok-Russian-scientists-drilling-alien-Antarctic-lake-buried-20m-years.html) this morning, the Russian team has been out of contact for a week. An American scientist says they're probably just busy. Busy incubating aliens, more likely.
1. Re:Now, the Predators come by Cyberax · 2012-02-06 03:11 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  That was a result of mis-translation. The team is in constant communication but there were no official news releases.
2. Re:Now, the Predators come by Rogerborg · 2012-02-06 03:19 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  The team is in constant communication
  
  But all they've been communicating is "Send more ugly-bags-of-mostly-water".
  
  --
  If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
3. Re:Now, the Predators come by GameboyRMH · 2012-02-06 03:57 · Score: 1
  
  And "you can cut the flamethrower fuel out of the next shipment."
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
4. Re:Now, the Predators come by jfengel · 2012-02-06 06:25 · Score: 2
  
  In an ordinary news source, I'd call it "mis-translation". For the Daily Fail, it's more likely a deliberate misreading for the purpose of sensationalism. The line between that and an outright lie would is unclear, and both are the Daily Fail's daily bread and butter.
Any Elder Things found yet? by Lazy+Jones · 2012-02-06 02:39 · Score: 1

Awaiting the first youtube videos...

--
"I love my job, but I hate talking to people like you" (Freddie Mercury)
1. Re:Any Elder Things found yet? by Rogerborg · 2012-02-06 03:22 · Score: 1
  
  Shoggoth went 'Tekeli-li'.
  
  --
  If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
Obligatory. by IronHalik · 2012-02-06 02:43 · Score: 2, Funny

Suddenly, deadly bacteria/frozen alien/frozen robotic alien/frozen goo-like mind control alien.
1. Re:Obligatory. by gmuslera · 2012-02-06 02:56 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Or worse, sheeple!
2. Re:Obligatory. by alreaud · 2012-02-06 03:17 · Score: 1
  
  Thanks! Nothing like an early morning roll on the floor with tears in the eyes...
3. Re:Obligatory. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 05:58 · Score: 0
  
  From what? The painfully un-funny cartoon?
4. Re:Obligatory. by pseudofrog · 2012-02-06 07:03 · Score: 1
  
  Thank you for your wisdom, Oh Great Arbiter of Humor. How shall I make amends for laughing that "painfully un-funny" strip?
5. Re:Obligatory. by tehcyder · 2012-02-07 01:39 · Score: 1
  
  Thank you for your wisdom, Oh Great Arbiter of Humor. How shall I make amends for laughing that "painfully un-funny" strip?
  Don't forget, if I find something funny, it's funny, and if I don't you're a fucking moran for laughing at it.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Considering climate change... by larys · 2012-02-06 02:43 · Score: 5, Funny

and how so few people/countries seem to be taking lifestyle-changing action against it, they wasted 30 years when in a few years or so, they might have the ice melt enough for them to reach the lake by just tapping on a thin sheet of it with the back of a pencil...
Stargate? by HiChris! · 2012-02-06 02:49 · Score: 5, Funny

Did they find the Stargate yet? or the weapons platform?
1. Re:Stargate? by Lumpy · 2012-02-06 02:58 · Score: 2
  
  which would explain the lake. the heat from the ZPM's would be keeping the ice melted around the facility.
  
  --
  Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
2. Re:Stargate? by Lanforod · 2012-02-06 04:20 · Score: 2
  
  ZPM's don't produce heat unless powering a heat source. Thought that'd be obvious from the way they can be handled with bare hands.
  No reason to believe it/they would be powering anything right now.
3. Re:Stargate? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 06:13 · Score: 0
  
  They need to make more Stargate shows!
4. Re:Stargate? by laejoh · 2012-02-06 20:04 · Score: 1
  
  Or worse. Professor Dyer begged the planners of this Antarctic expedition to stay away from things that should not be loosed on this Earth. Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!
Re:Can't wait for it to hit the shelves.. by sempir · 2012-02-06 02:50 · Score: 0

PaleoVodka !

--
A closed mouth gathers no foot.
Melt by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 02:50 · Score: 0

Why were they drilling for so long instead of melting the ice most of the way, then drill for the last feet?
1. Re:Melt by ledow · 2012-02-06 02:57 · Score: 2
  
  13,100 feet to the lake.
  Been digging since 1974. That's 344 feet a year, or a foot per day. Hell, *I* could have dug quicker than that!
  Or maybe they just had lots of problems, costs, setbacks, etc. associated with a 13,000 foot-long drill through a substance that nobody has ever drilled 13,000 down through?
2. Re:Melt by Mente · 2012-02-06 03:00 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Bruce Willis could have drilled it in a matter of hours.
3. Re:Melt by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 03:01 · Score: 1
  
  Making sure they don't contaminate the lake when they break through is a big big one.
  Also conditions to drill in are variable, and when you're not actively drilling it will freeze back up.
  This ain't no latrine 6 feet down 30 feet from camp they're making.
4. Re:Melt by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 03:06 · Score: 0
  
  I don't think the Soviets were all that concerned about contaminating the lake.
5. Re:Melt by pecosdave · 2012-02-06 03:08 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Only to find Chuck Norris waiting for him at the bottom.
  
  --
  The preceding post was not a Slashvertisement.
6. Re:Melt by SpacePirate20X6 · 2012-02-06 03:09 · Score: 1
  
  Actually, drilling in earnest was suspended until 2005, when it finally resumed. RTFA.
7. Re:Melt by stjobe · 2012-02-06 03:16 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  13,100 feet to the lake.
  Been digging since 1974. That's 344 feet a year, or a foot per day. Hell, *I* could have dug quicker than that!
  Or maybe they just had lots of problems, costs, setbacks, etc. associated with a 13,000 foot-long drill through a substance that nobody has ever drilled 13,000 down through?
  It's also in the middle of the Antarctic, just about, and almost 900 miles from the Scott-Amundsen base at the South Pole. It's where the coldest temperature on earth has been measured, a whopping -128F (-89C). I'd love to see anyone dig a foot *that* day! :)
  
  --
  "Total destruction the only solution" - Bob Marley
8. Re:Melt by Anne_Nonymous · 2012-02-06 03:30 · Score: 1
  
  >> 13,100 feet to the lake. Been digging since 1974. That's
  344 feet a year, or a foot per day.
  Wow, I didn't think there were any iceholes bigger than my brother-in-law.
9. Re:Melt by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 03:34 · Score: 0
  
  More like LOSE a foot! Zing!
10. Re:Melt by bill_mcgonigle · 2012-02-06 03:41 · Score: 1
  
  13,100 feet to the lake.
  Wow, I never realized just how much ice is down there. Apparently it can reach up to 3 miles in thickness.
  That's as high as any of the Rocky Mountains in the US and has 200' of global sea level tied up in it.
  
  --
  My God, it's Full of Source!
  OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
11. Re:Melt by stjobe · 2012-02-06 03:41 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  How do you keep a hole 13,100 ft deep melted when the average temperature in summer is -30C (-22F), and in winter -65C (-85F)?
  The warmest it ever gets is about -12C (10F) - that's a record by the way, the warmest ever measured at Vostok station.
  It's not exactly a resort, you know:
  
  The warmest recorded temperature at Vostok is -12.2 C (10.0 F), which occurred on 11 January 2002.[10]
  The coldest month was August 1987 with a mean temperature of -75.4 C (-103.7 F) and the warmest month was December 1989 with mean of -28 C (-18 F).[9]
  In addition to the extremely cold temperatures, other factors make Vostok one of the most difficult places on Earth for human habitation:
  * An almost complete lack of moisture in the air.
  * An average windspeed of 5 m/s (18 km/h) (11 mph), sometimes rising to as high as 27 m/s (97 km/h)(60 mph).
  * An acute lack of oxygen because of its high altitude at 3,488 meters (11,444 ft).
  * A higher ionization of the air.
  * A polar night that lasts approximately 130 days, from mid April to late August,[13] including 80 continuous days of civil polar night (i.e. too dark to read, during which the Sun is over 6 degrees below the horizon.)
  (source wikipedia)
  
  --
  "Total destruction the only solution" - Bob Marley
12. Re:Melt by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 04:17 · Score: 0
  
  And Clint Eastwood growling at both of them, "get off my lawn!"
13. Re:Melt by loneDreamer · 2012-02-06 04:37 · Score: 1
  
  The difference is that this time, for once, they don't want to nuke it!
14. Re:Melt by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 04:38 · Score: 0
  
  Are you stupid? (Relatively) warm air rises up the hole from the lake, which is obviously warm enough to not be frozen.
15. Re:Melt by JasterBobaMereel · 2012-02-06 04:57 · Score: 2
  
  They almost reached the lake in 1998 ...stopped to find a way of drilling without contaminating
  Try this :
  Go to the top of Rees Peak in the Rockies near Flagstaff, Arizona
  Arrange the temperature to never get above -10C and go down to -80C
  Do not get supplied regularly, and not at all in Winter
  Strip all the moisture from the air
  Increase the Wind speed so that it always blows at a minimum of 10mph and often goes up to 60mph ...and see how quickly you can drill ...
  
  --
  Puteulanus fenestra mortis
16. Re:Melt by JasterBobaMereel · 2012-02-06 05:02 · Score: 1
  
  ...and they started drilling at 11,444ft above sea level so the lake is actually 1,656ft below sea level.....
  
  --
  Puteulanus fenestra mortis
17. Re:Melt by blindseer · 2012-02-06 05:10 · Score: 1
  
  Why would he move to Antarctica? Is it warmer there than Dearborn, Michigan?
  
  --
  I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
18. Re:Melt by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 05:25 · Score: 0
  
  Not just warm - it's also under high pressure from the weight of the ice above it. The temperature is believed to be about -3 C - still below freezing, but the pressure keeps it liquid.
19. Re:Melt by sackbut · 2012-02-06 05:32 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  They were using kerosene originally to keep it from freezing. I do not believe the ice temperature is as cold as the ambient air either. Snow is a decent insulator. Ice maybe not so much though. The permafrost in the Arctic does not extend down 13000 feet (although it is not pure water). There must be some radiant heat from the earth. Generally temperatures increase 3 degrees C for every 100 meters deep.
20. Re:Melt by SteveFoerster · 2012-02-06 06:00 · Score: 1
  
  It's February, so... maybe?
  
  --
  Space game using normal deck of cards: http://BattleCards.org
21. Re:Melt by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 10:03 · Score: 0
  
  Me thinks GP is not the stupid one here. There is no hole to the lake - you're drilling one.
22. Re:Melt by rubycodez · 2012-02-06 10:25 · Score: 2
  
  You certainly saw a different version of "Earnest goes to Jail" than my kids did.
23. Re:Melt by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 10:59 · Score: 0
  
  According to the article they stopped for 7 years at one point. (1998 - 2005)
24. Re:Melt by gmhowell · 2012-02-06 13:05 · Score: 1
  
  With all the digging, I'm sure you'd stay warm enough.
  
  --
  Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
25. Re:Melt by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 13:53 · Score: 0
  
  the wind is worse than that on those peaks... i climbed it when the wind was a mere 80mph. It was like 60 degrees farenheit in town that day and about 28 at the top.
26. Re:Melt by tehcyder · 2012-02-07 01:43 · Score: 1
  
  Bruce Willis would have ridden down a hole in the ice on the back of an ICBM screaming "yippee-kay-aye, motherfuckers!"
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
27. Re:Melt by tehcyder · 2012-02-07 01:45 · Score: 1
  
  Duh, if it was that cold, you'd dig faster so that you kept warm.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
28. Re:Melt by tehcyder · 2012-02-07 01:46 · Score: 1
  
  Couldn't they have drilled in sideways and missed out drilling through all that ice on top?
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
29. Re:Melt by virg_mattes · 2012-02-13 03:35 · Score: 1
  
  There's no consideration of permafrost since they haven't hit the ground yet, and they don't plan to do so. They're drilling through the miles of ice laying on top of the lake. The ground is under the lake, which is under the ice. Radiant heat doesn't have any effect on this operation since, again, they're not drilling through ground.
  
  Virg
Something not mentioned - by pecosdave · 2012-02-06 03:09 · Score: 4, Interesting

How do we know this lake isn't connected to an underground river that could easily wash modern biology in and out?

--
The preceding post was not a Slashvertisement.
1. Re:Something not mentioned - by pz · 2012-02-06 03:17 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Or, just as short-sighted (and more common) is the idea that somehow that bit of matter got stuck in time and has remained impervious to the forces of random genetic mutation and evolution through the intervening years. Same idea comes across when we land on some asteroid, or explore some new bit of Mars, and loudly declare that it is a sample of matter left over from the birth of the solar system, or some such huey, as if it popped through a portal in time. The forces of nature still act on such things, even if they've been isolated from more large-scale interactions.
  Lake Vostok might (we think) have been sealed off for a very long time, but that doesn't mean it's a glimpse into the past, but, rather, a glimpse into a different version of the present.
  
  --
  
  Put my fist through my alarm clock with its ding-dong death inside my ear. - The Blackjacks.
2. Re:Something not mentioned - by Lashat · 2012-02-06 04:08 · Score: 2
  
  I agree with your assesment with one addition if i may.
  " a glimpse into a RADICALLY different version of the present."
  
  --
  For every benefit you receive a tax is levied. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
3. Re:Something not mentioned - by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 04:10 · Score: 1
  
  Yup. The same misconception comes from people who think Chimps are our ancestors. They aren't. They're our cousins. It's more likely that our most recent common ancestor was more like a Chimp and a Human of course.
4. Re:Something not mentioned - by jackbird · 2012-02-06 04:29 · Score: 1
  
  Because McElligot's Pool is near Sneeden's Hotel and State Highway 203, not the middle of Antarctica.
5. Re:Something not mentioned - by thrich81 · 2012-02-06 04:36 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  On the other hand, the rate of change of some systems is significantly slower than for many other systems. The obvious example is comparing the surface of the moon to the surface of the earth -- the earth had at least the same cratering events as the moon but the moon still displays a surface similar to what it was 2 billion or more years ago. Yes the surface of the moon is the present day surface but unlike the earth it is little changed and so is a good replica of the moon in the past. Geologically the same goes for those asteroids, Mars, etc. and biologically for Lake Vostok and many other isolated biological environments -- there is less competition and influx of new "innovations" from the larger outside world on the organisms there so the biologists say that the living things there have changed less than those in more open environments. The present is not the past but some places in the present are a lot like the past, indistinguishably so.
6. Re:Something not mentioned - by Verteiron · 2012-02-06 05:10 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  The goal here is not to see any living organisms there as a portal to the past. It is to see any organisms who have manged to survive in an airless, water-filled lake buried under 3 miles of ice for millions of years. It is fairly likely that, if there are any living organisms there, they're going to have evolved in some pretty interesting ways.
  
  --
  End of lesson. You may press the button.
7. Re:Something not mentioned - by Sockatume · 2012-02-06 05:30 · Score: 1
  
  While I agree with your point about biology - living things strongly couple to each other in remarkably complex ways - asteroids and debris on the rocky planets are (compared to Earth) completely pristine due to the inertness of their environment, and the processes they are subject to are blissfully easy to model and use in interpretation.
  
  --
  No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
8. Re:Something not mentioned - by Oswald+McWeany · 2012-02-06 05:36 · Score: 1
  
  Lake Vostok might (we think) have been sealed off for a very long time, but that doesn't mean it's a glimpse into the past, but, rather, a glimpse into a different version of the present.
  That is very true; however, if the environment of Lake Vostok hasn't changed in x eons (and it likely hasn't under all that ice) then environmental causes for evolution won't have occurred. It is changes in the environment that cause most "directional" evolution. Without that all you have after a while is random genetic drift. Physically cockroaches look the same today as they did millions of years ago because they are a pretty darn good-design that can't be improved upon for any of the environments that have come and gone since.
  You look at what is similar between any potential organisms there- and any organisms surface-side- and say that what is similar is "likely" a common historical trait.
  
  --
  "That's the way to do it" - Punch
9. Re:Something not mentioned - by tokul · 2012-02-06 05:59 · Score: 1
  
  the moon still displays a surface similar to what it was 2 billion or more years ago
  
  No impacts from meteorites? No erosion from temperature changes? What kind of material Moon is made off?
10. Re:Something not mentioned - by ColdWetDog · 2012-02-06 06:05 · Score: 2
  
  " a glimpse into a RADICALLY different version of the present."
  No, that's Las Vegas.
  
  --
  Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
11. Re:Something not mentioned - by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 06:39 · Score: 0
  
  And from thier point of view they are the ones that "won," they get to swing in trees, eat fruit, frolic in the sun, no taxes, no TV plastered with attack ads....
12. Re:Something not mentioned - by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 07:34 · Score: 0
  
  One could argue the same about Ayalon Cave. Eyeless creatures FTW!
13. Re:Something not mentioned - by John+Hasler · 2012-02-06 07:47 · Score: 1
  
  Physically cockroaches look the same today as they did millions of years ago because they are a pretty darn good-design that can't be improved upon for any of the environments that have come and gone since.
  While their carapaces may look the same there could be (and probably are) many substantial changes at the cellular and/or organ level.
  
  --
  Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
14. Re:Something not mentioned - by Oswald+McWeany · 2012-02-06 08:10 · Score: 1
  
  It is possible- but if the cockroach reached an optimal design for it's niche a million years ago- then the pressure would be to avoid change.
  Chances are the cockroach has changed in minor ways- because their environment has. But the fact is- they were near perfect design for the niche to begin with- they haven't had to change much.
  Same with Vostok- if an organism is of near perfect design for that environment- they could very well stay more-or-less the same for billions of years. Any derivitive from the optimal design would be a move away from it.
  
  --
  "That's the way to do it" - Punch
15. Re:Something not mentioned - by Provocateur · 2012-02-06 08:46 · Score: 2
  
  The forces of nature still act on such things, even if they've been isolated from more large-scale interactions.
  Yes, but being isolated like that, it would never have heard of the force of nature known as Justin Bieber. And would have to search hard for a piece of undergarment to throw at it.
  
  --
  WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
16. Re:Something not mentioned - by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 09:33 · Score: 0
  
  Actually, most of the chimps **I** encounter are in management...
17. Re:Something not mentioned - by gmhowell · 2012-02-06 13:06 · Score: 1
  
  Actually, most of the chimps **I** encounter are in management...
  Back to work, or I'll fling more feces at you.
  
  --
  Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
18. Re:Something not mentioned - by John+Hasler · 2012-02-06 14:21 · Score: 1
  
  Chances are the cockroach has changed in minor ways- because their environment has. But the fact is- they were near perfect design for the niche to begin with- they haven't had to change much.
  We know only that their gross skeletal anatomy has not changed much. At the cellular level they may have changed quite a lot due to environmental changes such as new viruses, bacteria, and environmental toxins.
  
  Same with Vostok- if an organism is of near perfect design for that environment- they could very well stay more-or-less the same for billions of years. Any derivitive from the optimal design would be a move away from it.
  While evolution would be slow in such a small, cold environment it would still occur. One of the most important features of the environment of most organisms is other organisms, and those other organisms can spontaneously develop characteristics that make what was an optimal design suboptimal. For example, it is likely that the mechanisms that cockroaches used for disposing of neurotoxins for millions of years are no longer optimal.
  
  --
  Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
19. Re:Something not mentioned - by virg_mattes · 2012-02-13 03:39 · Score: 1
  
  The lake is at sea level and tests confirm that it's unsalinated. If there was any water flow, it would have to be bidirectional which would introduce sea water (else no biology could "wash in"). Plus, under-ice mapping confirms that it's cut off from any other water.
  
  Virg
20. Re:Something not mentioned - by virg_mattes · 2012-02-13 03:46 · Score: 1
  
  No impacts from meteorites?
  Not much. In the time since the Earth formed, it's managed to vacuum up just about all of the debris that would intersect its (and the Moon's) orbit. So there are impacts since a billion years ago on the Moon but very few compared to what happened back then.
  
  No erosion from temperature changes?
  Again, not a lot. due to its composition, there's not a ton of erosion due to temperature changes. There's some, but not nearly enough to level the surface like an atmosphere does.
  
  What kind of material Moon is made off?
  The crust of the Moon is composed mostly of oxygen, silicon, magnesium, iron, calcium, and aluminum.
  
  Virg
Interesting Read by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 03:43 · Score: 0

'Cold Plague' by Daniel Kalla.
Decent read about this exact thing. I guess when drilling takes so long you can easily fit a book in before it's done!
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Cold-Plague-DANIEL-KALLA/9780765318336-item.html?ikwid=daniel+kalla&ikwsec=Books
K-THULU by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 05:07 · Score: 0

So when will the CIA start smuggling Heroin through it?
Fox News Reported Them Lost by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 05:19 · Score: 0, Interesting

Jeremy A Kaplan reported these guys lost. Best I can tell, he misunderstood some e-mails and ran with the story. A few other papers quoted his story, but most journalists must have know he was wrong. Funny, this story has not author listed and says,

A brief break in communication with colleagues in the unfrozen world had some asking questions about the scientists, as Antarctica's killing winter draws near. But despite the lack of info and onset of winter, which brings temperatures as low as -80 F or colder, the team was never in danger, Priscu said.
So, some were asking questions? Nice. Don't even mention that the only one asking questions was your own reporter running a story when the fact checking failed to confirm it. Go Fox!
1. Re:Fox News Reported Them Lost by Boronx · 2012-02-06 14:51 · Score: 1
  
  These some really get around these days.
  
  --
  Play Command HQ online
Retail by Thuktun · 2012-02-06 05:52 · Score: 2

How long until we get Vostok(tm) bottled water in the grocery store?
1. Re:Retail by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 06:19 · Score: 0
  
  Dammit, you beat me to that one.
  Unless there is a connection somewhere to the ocean or surface water of some sort, i believe the only thing they are going to find at that site is water.
  The only energy available for life that deep, would be volcanic and I think that the linked article said that they were drilling along the shoreline of the lake somewhere.
2. Re:Retail by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 06:36 · Score: 0
  
  Probably not long. The only question that remains is what should we name it? How about "naive" spelled backwards? The rubes will never figure it out.
3. Re:Retail by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 09:42 · Score: 0
  
  Ahh for mod points!
4. Re:Retail by shutdown+-p+now · 2012-02-06 10:14 · Score: 1
  
  Unless there is a connection somewhere to the ocean or surface water of some sort, i believe the only thing they are going to find at that site is water.
  There has already been some evidence found for life in the lake from ice extracted during drilling (keep in mind that they've already drilled some considerable way into the upper, frozen layers of the lake).
  
  I think that the linked article said that they were drilling along the shoreline of the lake somewhere.
  It's pretty close to the South Pole. There are no shorelines there.
5. Re:Retail by Tim+C · 2012-02-06 23:35 · Score: 1
  
  If it's a lake, it has a shoreline.
  
  --
  It's official. Most of you are morons.
So when... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 06:30 · Score: 0

I can't wait until someone ties this research into an evolution vs. intelligent design debate or man-made global warming spectacle to completely deligitimitize and demean any actual SCIENTIFIC findings made!
Comment removed by account_deleted · 2012-02-06 06:32 · Score: 1

Comment removed based on user account deletion
is at sea level by Killer+Instinct · 2012-02-06 07:08 · Score: 1

The lake is AT seas level, but the top 1656ft are frozen. They were finding things in the top layer of ice, but werent sure if they had already contaminated it. SO they stopped drilling until a new system was in place. IIRC they had found some life forms in the top layer of ice already when they stopped drilling.

--
#include bier;
What about... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 08:10 · Score: 0

Anybody know what happened to the pressure when they opened the hole into the lake? Did the water suddenly freeze or boil? Would the oxygen form bubbles? Would any such event instantly kill any potential life in the lake?
1. Re:What about... by holmstar · 2012-02-06 09:51 · Score: 2
  
  Well, they were keeping the well thawed using kerosene, which is lighter than ice and water, so presumably the weight of the ice sheet would force the water up the well, pushing out the kerosene until it reaches equilibrium, which would be somewhere beneath the surface of the ice sheet. Not sure exactly at what depth that would be. I'll let somebody else do the math.
  
  Dissolved gases could certainly come out of solution as the column of water rises up the well. There have also bee suggestions that the water is supercooled and prevented from freezing only due to the high pressures involved. If so, then it would freeze as it rises and probably wouldn't make it all that far up the well before freezing solid.
Speculation from epSos.de 2012 Feb 06 by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-06 11:08 · Score: 0

This article is nothing but the history of exploration in that place.
The officials did not give any information yet. There might be some indecent or an unusual information that they try to cover up.
Superfreezing? by lcllam · 2012-02-06 16:01 · Score: 1

I'm wondering what would happen if the combined effects of being under pressure (4 kms of ice) and low temperature would make this the worlds largest beer bottle experiment?
It would be tragic, yet somewhat hilarious at the same time.
Going DARK For 6 Days by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-08 12:13 · Score: 0

Question: Would ANYONE here hazard a guess as to WHY the team went into radio silence for 6 whole days prior to, or upon breach? Seems markedly odd to go that dark that long unnecessarily.