After Years Of Drilling, Antarctic Lake Will Be Reached | Hacker News Reader

After Years Of Drilling, Antarctic Lake Will Be Reached

bbc.co.uk

80 pointsRobelius18 comments

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Let's hope it turns out better than this: http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/colderwar.htm

(Sorry, but I think it's almost obligatory to link A Colder War every time this story comes up.)

What a lovely story to read right before bed.

That article is over a year old (January 2011). Here's a newer one from 18 January 2012:

http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2012/01/all-eyes-o...

As a matter of fact, based on their drilling rate, they should have reached it by now.

They were 50 meters away last year. January 2012 they were 29. Looks like they still have another year or two to go.

There is a recent Washington Post article that says they are on the verge of breaking thru.

I hope they discover some form of life in the lake. It would be amazing to discover what the evolutionary outcomes would be for organisms in such an isolated harsh environment.

As of 13 January, they had reached a depth of 3737.5 meters, about 15 meters away from liquid water. With three teams drilling around the clock and making progress at an average of 2 meters per day, Priscu says they're on track to break through within the week.

edit: It will only take another year because they're letting the lake water come up through a small bore-hole and freeze, which they will examine next summer season.

I'm glad that the Russian Government did not bail out of this project in the end, and instead decided to see it through. I only wish more tax dollars were spent towards research, rather than fighting.

> the team came up with new, ecologically safe methods of probing the lake

Let's hope that these will work. ’Technical difficulties‘ reported make it look like the equipment may not have enough precision to keep it clean.

What makes you say that?

Please refer to the original article and search for ‘But the work has not been going very smoothly’. Also, check out the link posted by smoody and search for ‘nerve-wracking moment for the drillers’. We don't want antifreeze and other stuff to get into the clear water underneath, I guess.

Are they actually drilling? As opposed to melting the ice and removing the water. Especially since the ice is near its melting point at their current depth as per article.

Yes they are drilling, because drilling results in ice cores that are scientifically useful (provide context).

I only wonder whether humanity will be able to resist the urge of selling it as a bottled water at some point...

Am I the only one who read "huge round [ice] monocrystals of a metre or more in diameter and as hard as glass." and immediately thought "ice-9"?

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cats_Cradle]

you might be interested in this HD Documentary http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&lis...

My interest was piqued by the mention of "space radar."

Release the Kraken!

Hope they won't find any Thing they're not looking for.

(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084787/ and 2011 prequel http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0905372/)

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