Silence shrouds Antarctic dig (Still No Contact From Russian Scientists at Lake Vostok Site)

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | February 5, 2012

[prisoner6]

Why not vodka?

Oh wait...russians.

[aruanan]

Crushing pressure which means it is a real possibility that tons of water came rushing up the drill hole and covered the scientists with freezing water.

Sort of like drilling through the lid of a pressure cooker. Hey, what's the worst that could happen?

[aruanan]

Crushing pressure which means it is a real possibility that tons of water came rushing up the drill hole and covered the scientists with freezing water.

In all the talk about drilling such a hole did no one discuss the danger of pressure and 20 million years' worth of dissolved gases?

[aruanan]

Here's something from another story. Note the part about how they'll "adjust the pressure."

The Lake Vostok project has been years in the making, with initial drilling at the massive lake -- 15,690 square kilometers (6,060 sq mi) -- starting in 1998. Initially, they were able to reach 3,600 meters, but had to stop due to concerns of possible contamination of the never-before-touched lake water. "Ice isn't like rock, it's capable of movement," Dr. Priscu told FoxNews.com.

"So in order to keep the hole from squeezing shut, they put a fluid in the drill called kerosene. Kerosene also grows bacteria, and there's about 65 tons of kerosene in that hole. It would be a disaster if that kerosene contaminated this pristine lake."

But the scientists came up with a clever way to make sure this debacle would not occur. They agreed to drill until a sensor warned them of free water. At that point they will take out the right amount of kerosene and adjust the pressure so that none of the liquids fall into the lake, but rather lake water would rise through the hole.

Priscu was concerned for his colleagues, but also admits the stunning scope of the story.

"It could be fodder for a great made-for-TV movie," he said.

[steve86]

astonishing 50 degrees Fahrenheit, with “hot spots” of up to 65 degrees.

Nice comment (the whole thing).

If any organisms lived in that 50 degree water they probably won't do very well when exposed to the -50 degree environment outside. Fortunately.

[steve86]

I think it just doesn’t report as often as most stations (probably doesn’t have continuous connectivity).

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks PJ-Comix. They've resumed contact, I just found this topic, sorry for the delayed response. :') When the Sun sets for the last time for six months, the temp drops remarkably quickly, and stays down. Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[Safetgiver]

How did you get through school and to a first job without a slide rule?.... It would’ve looked stupid running through the jungle with one of those things.