Lake Vostok
The largest sub-glacial lake ever discovered.
Category Natural Wonders, Watery Wonders, Martian Landscapes, Geological Oddities, Strange Science, Intriguing Environs
In 1996, Russian scientists were drilling ice core samples at Vostok Station in Antarctica. When they reached 3623 meters (11,886 feet), they stopped because they couldn't figure out why the ice down this deep was so clean. After a series of tests using radar and seismic waves, it turned out that this ice was actually the uppermost region of the world's largest warm-water sub-glacial lake - a lake roughly the size of Lake Ontario. The lake is composed of fresh water and has been isolated beneath the glacier for somewhere between half a million and a million years.
Naturally, the first thing that came to the scientists' minds was that this lake could possibly be the most pristine liquid environment on Earth and could be full of living creatures and organisms that, due to isolation and adaptation, live no where else. Researchers tested the core samples taken close to the water and indeed found microbes that have never been found elsewhere.
But when the question of how to explore the lake came up, not long after its discovery, the Vostok scientists faced a serious dilemma. The lake is under immense pressure, and to breach the ice would have devastating consequences. Secondly, anything sent into this pristine environment would have to be as sterile as possible to avoid contamination.
In 1999, NASA approved funding for the development of a torpedo-like probe dubbed "Cryobot." Equipped with a heated tip, the probe was designed to slowly melt its way down through the glacier, unwinding communication cables as it went. As Cryobot ventured down, the water would refreeze behind and above it. Then, before it breeched the ceiling of the lake, the probe was to decontaminate itself with a hydrogen peroxide bath. Once inside, Cryobot would release the remote-controlled "Hydrobot," a specially designed submersible vehicle equipped with a camera and other instruments, to explore the interior of the lake.
Despite promising tests, funding for the project was cut in 2003. One hope, however, is that due to the discoveries that Mars also has sub-glacial lakes and that Jupiter's moon Europa may have them as well, the Cryobot project will be re-opened soon in order to test technology for future space missions.
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- Address Antarctica
- "Jupiter
- "The Lost World of Lake Vostok", http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2000/vostok.shtml
- "LAKE VOSTOK : A Curiosity or a Focus for Interdisciplinary Study?", http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/pi/vostok/
Comments
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The Vostok area is insane! The worlds lowest recorded temperature was from the surface station here, an astonishing -89.2 degrees Celcius (-128.6 degrees Fahrenheit). The research conducted by the Russian Antarctic Program could yeild mind-blowing results. For eveyone's sake, lets hope they succeed!
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