Team to drill down in to Antarctic lake

[All Eyes on Antarctic Drillers at Scott Expedition Centennial] by Sara Reardon on 18 January 2012, 10:58 AM - Science.org ... These modern-day explorers hope to discover whether Vostok, which at 5000 km 3 is the third largest lake on the planet, is teeming with hidden, cold-loving life that could have evolved separately from the rest of the world for hundreds of thousands of years. Microbiologist John Priscu of Montana State University in Bozeman, who was one of the original planners of the Vostok mission, has been getting regular updates from the Russian team. As of 13 January, they had reac... [More]

I wonder why they bother wearing sterile gloves when they are breathing all over the equipment ???? (shouldnt they have the face/breathing masks if they call it a clean room ?)

The gloves are to keep body oils off the equipment. The pieces themselves are sterilized before being taken to the clean room and assembled (The clean room is that little bassinet looking thing where everyone sticks their arms through the built in gloves on the side).

The gloves are to keep body oils off the equipment. The pieces themselves are sterilized before being taken to the clean room and assembled (The clean room is that little bassinet looking thing where everyone sticks their arms through the built in gloves on the side). I understand (re the clean room) ..I just am quite startled to find out that body oils cannot be removed in the clean room but strains of streptococci & the like can be ? I truly thought airborne strep & such were more resilient than body oils .. well Im glad to learn this I was very worried they may contaminate the under... [More]

This week, a Russian team drilling into Lake Vostok in the center of the Antarctic continent is likely to break through the ice to water. It will be the first time that a subglacial lake has been breached. These modern-day explorers hope to discover whether Vostok, which at 5000 km 3 is the third largest lake on the planet, is teeming with hidden, cold-loving life that could have evolved separately from the rest of the world for hundreds of thousands of years. ... Source

This week, a Russian team drilling into Lake Vostok in the center of the Antarctic continent is likely to break through the ice to water. It will be the first time that a subglacial lake has been breached. These modern-day explorers hope to discover whether Vostok, which at 5000 km 3 is the third largest lake on the planet, is teeming with hidden, cold-loving life that could have evolved separately from the rest of the world for hundreds of thousands of years. ... Source This is an exciting moment, the lake has supposedly been sealed off from the world for millions of years. If anything is ali... [More]

Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!

Seriously...there better be a Youtube feed or something the moment they pop through the ice...

I don't know what happens to all the kerosene and freon they've put in the drill hole to stop it re-freezing. Won't be helping the 'wildlife' by dropping that into the lake.

There are doubts about what pressure exists in the water under all that ice, it might turn into the biggest fountain feature in history.