Radio Contact Lost From Russian Team Drilling Into Lake Vostok in Antarctica for 20-Million-Year-Old Water | TheBlaze.com
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Science Radio Silence From Researchers Drilling Into 20-Million-Year-Old Antarctic Lake
- Posted on February 3, 2012 at 11:02pm by
Liz Klimas - Print »
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With only three days left before the team of researchers drilling into a 20-million-year-old lake under 13,000 feet of Antarctic ice, radio communication has gone silent on their end.
BBC reported last week that the crew – set to come home on Feb. 6 while the weather is still good enough for a plane to land — was only 50 meters away from reaching their desired depth to access Lake Vostok after drilling nonstop for weeks in -66 degree Celsius weather
Now, the Daily Mail reports, that colleagues in the United States lost contact with the Russian team. The scientists are digging to the long-untouched water to help provide clues to what earlier conditions on Earth were like.
The Daily Mail has more on the situation:
Fox News reports John Priscu, professor of ecology at Montana State University who is heading up a similar Antarctic exploration program, as saying the temperature will only get colder now that winter is setting in:
Fox states that it contacted the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute but did not receive a response.
In the mean time, scientists wait with bated breath for both the Russian team and news of the samples from pristine, 20-million-year-old water they could bring back.
Lake Vostok in Antarctica is buried under 13,000 feet of ice and is about the size of Lake Ontario.
Now, the Daily Mail reports, that colleagues in the United States lost contact with the Russian team. The scientists are digging to the long-untouched water to help provide clues to what earlier conditions on Earth were like.
Satellite image of Lake Vostok. (Image via Daily Mail)
A support team in the U.S. has been unable to make radio contact with the crew on the ice for the past five days.The Daily Mail reports that machinery will not drill directly into the lake, as researchers don’t want it to touch the water, but there are concerns that too much water could forcibly come shooting up the hole. Up to a quarter of the water of the lake, which is similar in size to Lake Ontario, could shoot out in the worst case scenario, according to the scientists.
The drilling operation is highly intricate — and dangerous.There is a risk of explosion from oxygen and nitrogen trapped in the lake.
Supplies traveling to the Vostok Antarctic research station. (Image via Daily Mail)
The team’s disappearance could not come at a worse time: They are about 40 feet from their goal of reaching the body of water, Priscu explained, a goal that the team was unable to meet as they raced the coming winter exactly one year ago.Fox reports Priscu as saying he has some concern for his colleagues but with the drama of how the water would be extracted and now lack of communication, notes that it makes for an interesting plot for a Hollywood movie.
When the winter arrives in the next few weeks, the temperature can get twice as cold. Vostok Station boasts the lowest recorded temperature on Earth: -89.4 degrees Celsius (-129 degrees Fahrenheit).
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“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.
Fox states that it contacted the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute but did not receive a response.
In the mean time, scientists wait with bated breath for both the Russian team and news of the samples from pristine, 20-million-year-old water they could bring back.
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Nunyunuwi
Posted on February 4, 2012 at 11:44am 1st I personally hope that the crew of this exploration team is ok, and nothing bad has happened. Would be sad for their families. However your theory’s are interesting however you miss the facts. As they were drilling the Inner-Earth dwellers who have an entrance in Antarctica to the South West of their location were greatly offended by this team exploring so close to their back door. So they sent up a team of descendents from the lost WW 2 German forces who disappeared long ago when Germany fell, these where reported to have found the inner earth opening last message sent from an old U-Boat has been recorded, however these descendents have grown up with the Inner Earth dwellers or IE vs. the popular incorrect ET terms. Since they are trying to remain hidden until the time of Armageddon, they have 1st tried to talk the team into stopping if no is the answer then they A) eliminate the team, B) escort the team into their inner earth bases to remain there until a future time when the world will finally know and understand about this IE civilization and their tech, after all thats what flying saucers / UFO’s are just inner earth, not ET aliens. Now that that is covered. It is good to have a wonderful imagination… lol See the IE people do not want to be poisoned by the Kerosine being used as they actually use the lakes water from the other side to drink from. so its just IE environmental’s protecting their lake after all.
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