A “small window” to the unknown world of the subglacial lake Vostok is open.

[Russian] Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute ^ | 2012-02-08 | V.V. Lukin

[Freelance Warrior]

The penetration to relict water of subglacial Lake Vostok happened at last on 5 February at 20.25 Moscow time.

On 4 February there was a contact of the drill with the water lens at the borehole depth of 3766 m. The ice core bottom segment extracted from this depth served as evidence – the surface of the lower 70 cm of the ice core was glazed, as if it were submerged to water just before recovery. No ducts or capillaries in the ice core body were visually observed at this.

Exactly this contact with the water lens in the borehole was erroneously interpreted by some mass media as a real penetration to the lake water layer.

The next launch of the drill to the borehole bottom showed the drilling process to stop. The drill pump intended for pumping away the drilling fluid with the ice slime from the boring bit cutters, began pumping water to the inner space of the drill. As it turned out, during the next drill rise, about 30-40 liters of water, frozen in the process of recovery, was lifted to the drilling complex.

Drilling of the ice sheet was continued after this operation and the next day the drill contact with the real water body occurred at the mark of 3769.3 m. Sensors have registered a sharp increase of pressure at the bottom and of the thrust moment at rotation of the drill boring bit. After this N.I. Vasilyev, Head of the team and Zubkov V.M., lead engineer-driller, who were at this time on the watch, began to urgently recover the drill to the surface.

The water rise from the lake in the near-bottom part of the borehole occurred at a height of about 30-40 m from the lower surface of the ice sheet.

[Explorer89]

So they reestablished contact with that team? Where are they now? Isn’t it dangerous to be out on the ice now with the days rapidly getting shorter?

[Explorer89]

Whoops, saw at the end of the press release they will be home in Russia by the 24th....

[Mercat]

Either this was written in another language and translated poorly or the author is a moron. I’m thinking the former since its mainly the sentence structure that is tortured.

[Freelance Warrior]

The institute's site reports that the crew left for the ship "Akademic Fyodorov" on Feb, 6. Though, 13 people stayed in the Vostok station for a winter expedition, including 2 drilling men who are to conservate the bore for the next season and to hold some geophysical experiments.

So the station looks fit to accomodate some people in winter.

[KoRn]

/mark

[Freelance Warrior]

Either this was written in another language and translated poorly

Exactly. Still the text is an official press release containing technical details. I thought those might have been unavailable for the English speaking public, that's why I posted it here.

[Lees Swrd]

Yep Russian is hard to translate you probably heard all those jokes like” In Russia language speaks you”, in this case it is true its not just what you say but how you spoke it has to be translated too . Context= very important.
Find some raw Russian and throw it in a translator the more personal it is the harder it is to understand.

[smokingfrog]

click for large image

[PIF]

The problem isn't with the translation so much as with the translator - who evidently does not speak or know English very well.

Russian is not that hard to translate to English, if one is somewhat fluent in both languages. Translating from English to Russian is the difficult part.

English grammar is very loose compared to Russian where every word declines and can have an action prefix's attached, further compounded by heavy use of acronyms and slang.

Digital translators are terrible at translating Russian, at least - which is likely a product of what we see here.

I recommend using Smirnitski’s “English to Russian” and his “Russian to English” dictionaries.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks KoRn. From the FRchives:

• World War II Rumor About an Ancient Lake Is Revived (Russians Say Hitler Remains/Clones)
• Russian scientists reach buried Antarctic Lake Vostok
• Antarctic explorer says Russian scientists drilling at 'alien' underground lake are safe
• Silence shrouds Antarctic dig (Still No Contact From Russian Scientists at Lake Vostok Site)
• World holds its breath for Russian scientists drilling in Antarctic (No Contact)
• Russian scientists seeking Lake Vostok lost in frozen 'Land of the Lost'? (Attacked by "The Thing?")
• Race to save Russian crew in lifeboats as fishing boat is holed by iceberg
• 'Virus-eater' discovered in Antarctic lake
• Scientists Race To Breach Anarctica's Lake Vostok
• Russian team prepares to penetrate Lake Vostok
• Cold And Deep: Antarctica's Lake Vostok Has Two Big Neighbors
• Vostok: The Lake of Shadows

[SunkenCiv]

• Oldest ever ice core promises climate revelations
• Fly fossil found in Antarctica
• Exotic Antarctic Species Face Climate Wipeout (Save the giant woodlice & dinnerplate sized spiders!)
• Deciphering Contradictory Antarctic Climate Patterns
• 18-Mile Crack Seen by NASA in Antarctic Glacier
• First Long-Necked Dinosaur Fossil Found In Antarctica
• Huge Crack Discovered in Antarctic Glacier (part of a natural process)
• Huge Underwater Volcanoes Discovered Near Antarctica (string of a dozen, some of them active)
• Underwater Antarctic volcanoes discovered in the Southern Ocean
• Fossilized pollen reveals climate history of northern Antarctica
• Climate: New study slashes estimate of icecap loss ( From DrudgeReport)
• First Evidence Of Under-Ice Volcanic Eruption In Antarctica
• Rainforest Fossils Demonstrate Dramatic Climate Change
• NASA to begin massive climate survey of Antarctica
• Snapshot Of Past Climate Reveals No Ice In Antarctica Millions Of Years Ago
• Climate Scientists Blow Hot and Cold [Antarctica Hotter? Antarctica Colder? Blame AGW.]
• Climate change's Antarctic ruffle
• Fossil Suggests Antarctica Much Warmer in Past
• New Fossils Suggest Ancient Cat-sized Reptiles in Antarctica
• Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapse Blamed On More Than Climate Change
• BBC: Tiny fossils reveal ice history ~ new details about Antarctica's warmer past.
• Experts: Latest climate report too rosy
• Experts Split Over Climate Danger To Antarctica
• End of Year Climate Change Update
• Alaskan storm cracks iceberg in Antarctica: study (waves traveled 8300 miles to destroy iceberg)