Russian Antarctic Expedition reached the subglacial lake Vostok in Antarctica

"At Vostok station in Antarctica our researchers at a depth of 3 768 thousand meters finished drilling and reached the surface of the subglacial Lake" - a spokesman said.

Recall that the seasonal work of the expedition, engaged in drilling ice began Jan. 2. Earlier it was planned that all works will be completed this season after contact rig with water column of the lake and a set of special operations. Then the experts were planning to return to drilling only in December 2012 to obtain fresh-frozen samples of lake water, which was held in the well, and explore them.

Lake Vostok in Antarctica, hidden under a layer of ice chetyrehkilometrovoy is a unique aquatic ecosystem, isolated from the Earth's atmosphere and surface biosphere for millions of years. His study plays an important role in building a scenario of natural climate changes in the coming millennium. Deep drilling near Vostok station in Antarctica started in the 1970s, when the existence of the pond was not yet known, scientists were initially aim paleoclimatic studies. In 1996, Russian experts with the assistance of British scientists discovered deep in the Antarctic ice lake, which is one of the world's largest freshwater.

Subsequently, scientists have data about its size and shape, the thickness of the ice cover, as well as the underwater topography and sediments by radio and seismic sounding.

In 1998, deep drilling has been suspended over the lake, where the relic to the waters of the lake was about 130 meters of ice. Then, the international community has asked not to enter the water layer of the reservoir until the appearance of a special technology that minimizes its potential contamination. This technology was developed in the St. Petersburg Mining Institute, and in 2003, during the 26th consultative meeting of the Antarctic Treaty, the international community agreed with the Russian proposals.

Earlier it was reported that at the disposal of the expedition there were only 7 days before the onset of severe cold, which makes it impossible to work on the study of the lake. Experts will return to continue studies only in December 2012 to obtain fresh-frozen samples of lake water, which was held in the well, and explore them.

The expedition members have even come up for hypothetical inhabitants of Lake Vostok name. Head of the Laboratory of Genetics group krioastrobiologii eukaryotes Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute Sergey Bulat offered to call them "oksigenofilami" as is unknown to science group "kislorodolyubivyh" bacteria. If it is detected, it is a fundamental discovery in the evolution of life. If on the contrary, it means that this is the only region in the world lifeless.

Source: eco.ria.ru

Innovation Center "Skolkovo" social networks VKontakte, Twitter, facebook and Google +

Site Facility: www.sk.ru

via factroom.ru