Posted on 02/05/2012 7:19:42 AM PST by PJ-Comix
A TEAM of Russian scientists has gone quiet as they race against winter to uncover an ancient Antarctic lake.
The group from Russia's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) have been drilling for weeks in an effort to reach isolated Lake Vostok, a vast, dark body of water hidden 4000m below the surface of the continent. Lake Vostok has not been exposed to air in more than 20 million years.
The team's last contact with colleagues in the outside world was six days ago, and scientists from around the globe are unsure of the fate of the mission - and the scientists themselves - as Antarctica's deadly winter draws near.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailytelegraph.com.au ...
Wasn't this 'story' an episode of X-FILES ??????
Did you use a slide rule to make that calculation? Easy to get the decimal wrong with those things.
No - but I remember having to use one in my first job...I think it was made of ivory;)
Does anyone still manufacture them and/or use them?
Early research into Lake Vostok indicated that the body of water had a depth of 2,000 feet - far deeper than any of the Great Lakes and half as deep as Asia’s Lake Baikal (5,000 feet) - a length of 300 miles and a width of 50 miles. Contrary to what was initially believed, the lake received filtered light.
Further investigations also detected the existence of geothermal sources which warmed the lake to an astonishing 50 degrees Fahrenheit, with “hot spots” of up to 65 degrees. Given these new discoveries regarding solar radiation and temperature, scientists suggested the possibility that the lake’s encapsulated atmosphere purified itself through a complex interaction with water, and that the chances for vegetable life forms were very good.
Scientists had expected to find magnetic anomalies in the range of 500 to 600 nanoteslas in areas where volcanic material could be located, but the ranges encountered were simply startling.
“This anomaly is so large that it cannot be the product of a daily change in the magnetic field,” stated Michael Studinger, one of the researchers involved in the mapping endeavor.
Also significant was the sheer size of the anomaly: 65 by 46 square miles.
SOURCE: http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/antarctica/antartica09.htm
A combination of crushing pressure, geothermal heat and the insulation of the thick ice above it is thought to keep the waters of Lake Vostok liquid.
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.
I hope the Russians have a lot of flamethrowers and high explosives.
I believe the Vostok Station only updates every six hours. I don’t know why.
-——in my first job——
One can only wonder. How did you get through school and to a first job without a slide rule?
It would be a nice gesture if at tonight’s Super Bowl, an announcer would ask for a moment of silence for the safety of the Lake Vostok scientists.
Astra Porta can cause a lot of magnetic interference....
Between my High School slide rule days and college HP started selling calculators. Pretty danged sophisticated ones too.
Sadly I won’t hold my breath. I’ll do it myself. I hope we all do.
It would be nice though.
And I’m thinking they have no blowout preventers, drilled into the liquid lake, found it to be saturated with methane and some H2S, the well blew out caused a rather large accident.
It’s not like the place is on the moon. In the last 6 days they could have either flow over the place, tasked a satellite or just gone there. Geeesh, drama for the sake of drama.
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