Posted on 02/04/2012 5:14:39 PM PST by PJ-Comix
The scientific community is holding its breath for a team of Russian scientists that has been out of contact with colleagues in the U.S for six days, as they drill into a lake buried beneath the Antarctic ice for 20 million years.
They have to evacuate their station by Tuesday - when winter proper kicks in and temperatures start to drop to an inhospitable minus 90C.
The scientists are currently battling conditions of up to minus 66C at Lake Vostok as they raced to drill into a lake buried two miles beneath the ice before the weather closed in.
They were hoping water in the lake, the most inhospitable region of the planet, would reveal more about ancient life on our planet - but they have fallen silent just days before the deadly winter is due to begin.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Geothermal heat under the ice keeps the lake liquid, and its conditions are often described as 'alien' because they are thought to be akin to the subterranean lakes on Jupiter's moon Europa.
The water inside the lake will have had no contact with man-made pollutants or Earthly life forms for millions of years.
High pressure on the water. Drill head bursts spraying water. Temp -40 f. Popsicle scientists.
Just a thought.
I’m not thinking aliens. I’m thinking DINOSAURS.
Those temperatures must be Fahrenheit(F) not Centigrade(C)..
/johnny
I think the word would be corpicle. Make falling into the North Sea in January seem like a sauna bath.
I just turned up the heater thinking about it.
/johnny
High pressure on the water. Drill head bursts spraying water. Temp -40 f. Popsicle scientists.
Just a thought.
As good or better than any other.
There’s something kind of spooky about this.
Yeah, I believe at 40 below water pretty much freezes INSTANTLY. Also keep in mind that water would also be just above freezing to start with.
Prayers up. God help them.
The creepiest thing is that the outside world will have to wait until LATE this year to find out what happened to them if they don’t make contact soon.
I’ll admit I’m stupid.
Why aren’t they doing this during the summer?
(I’m afraid I just asked the equivalent of “Why don’t we travel to the sun at night?”)
Those temps don’t make sense either way.
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"eyup, first thing I thought
It is summer south of the equator until March 21.
If you were to cool water to the freezing point, and hold it there until the latent heat of fusion dissipates — then, you could freeze water instantly.
OTOH, it is safe to make yellow snow — despite the tall tales that abound in the Arctic.
Conversation, OTOH, can be difficult. You have to pick the words up, carry them inside your cabin, and thaw them on the stove before you can hear them.
Something swallowed them up. The Creature from the Antarctic. /s
It is definately creepy.
Um...This is SUMMER in the Antarctic. Below the equator the seasons are the opposite of ours. So those incredibly low temps are still not as low as they will be months from now when it is our summer and their WINTER. That is why they have to leave by Tuesday. Each day down there it is becoming colder and COLDER.
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