Russians Announce Breakthrough Discovery of Antarctic Subglacial Lake! | WFAE 90.7

One week after halting with about 40 feet remaining, Russian researchers announced today that they have successfully drilled through two miles of ice to access Lake Vostok — a water body comparable in size to New Jersey that has remained untouched for millions of years.

The Google translation from Russian on this page is somewhat rough, but it indicates that the team reports the breakthrough occurred over the weekend.

Now, as reported by The New York Times, the Russians indicate that an initial surge of water that ascended from the lake has solidified in the drill hole — as anticipated. It is probable that this water has been tainted with some of the chemicals utilized during the drilling process. The intention is to return next December and only then extract clean water from the lake.

As NPR’s Richard Harris and other have indicated, the drilling has been in progress for many years. Researchers are keen to discover if any life forms might inhabit the lake, which could contribute to evolutionary science.

Lake Vostok is heated by geothermal energy. According to The Associated Press, “scientists from other countries hope to build upon this discovery with similar initiatives. American and British teams are drilling to access their own subglacial Antarctic lakes.”

Update at 3:30 p.m. ET. The Russians Essentially Inserted A Straw In There; If Any Life Exists, It’s Probably Microbial:

“The primary objective of the Russians was to create a hole that functioned like a straw,” explains Robin Bell, a research scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. She spoke this afternoon to NPR’s Audie Cornish.

The concept is that it will “be akin to them sipping from the straw, allowing lake water to come surging up without any of the contaminants entering,” she remarked.

Next, when Spring arrives in Antarctica, the Russians are “prepared to gather a fresh sample of lake water … as they drill into that frozen straw.” They will also “introduce strings of instruments.”

Regarding what, if anything, is living beneath: “What we are most likely to encounter are tiny microbes that have figured out how to thrive in a highly isolated, low-energy environment,” Bell stated. And if microbes are indeed down there, studying them may provide insights into the potential for life on moons of other celestial bodies.

More from Audie’s dialogue with Bell will be featured in today’s All Things Considered. Click here to locate an NPR station that broadcasts or streams the program.

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